Do You Accept The Charges?
by MadnessJones
Summary: Huffer, feeling depressed and homesick for Cybertron, starts an online relationship with a femme. What he doesn't realize is that she is a Decepticon Seeker. G1 continuity.
1. Chapter 1

_Author's Notes: Well, this idea is a weird one, I'll admit, but it won't go away so I'm writing it anyway. Basically, I see so many romantic stories in the Transformers fandom about the popular and classically handsome characters, and I thought I'd do something different by writing about a character who is a real underdog (for good reason). This is as much an excuse to do a character study on Huffer as it is a chance to write a romance (I don't do them very often). Anyway, I hope you like it, and please review, follow, and favorite to see more :)_

"Talking"

::email::

 _Thinking_

/Comm link/

* * *

Chapter 1

It was a lousy day! That seemed to be the mantra that ran through Huffer's helm most of his life on this miserable planet! Of all the planets to have to fight the Decepticons on, why did it have to be this organic mudball called earth?

He walked to the rec room for his morning energon. He had an early shift that day since Prowl had switched his schedule around. Part of him wanted to think that Prowl had it out for him, but that couldn't be true since the Datsun would have to actually notice him in order to harbor any ill will, and nobody noticed Huffer!

He didn't have a lot of friends among the Autobots he was stationed with now. He mostly stayed close to the other minibots since at least he could look them in the optic. Gears was his best friend, and every now and then Brawn and Windcharger would hang out with him, but mostly he was left alone. Powerglide would talk to Huffer, but the little dump truck didn't like to encourage it. Like most fliers, Powerglide was full of himself and didn't care who knew it.

When Huffer entered the rec room it was blessedly empty. Well, at least one thing was going right for him. He grabbed a cube, filled it up, and sat down. He sighed as he stared at the pinkish purple liquid swirling in his cube.

"Well, at least the energon looks the same here as it does on Cybertron," Huffer said to himself in the dark and quiet room.

Deep down, that was the root of most of his problems. He was homesick. He just wanted to go back to Cybertron! He knew it was at war. He knew the Decepticons ruled most of the planet. He knew he was safer here. He still didn't care. He wanted Cybertron…

* * *

Huffer stared at the monitor almost hoping something would happen. He was glad to not have patrol duty for once so his tires could stay clean for a change, but that still didn't alleviate the boredom that came from staring at security monitors all day. He wondered if he thought hard enough if maybe he could will a Decepticon to attack! No, that was silly! Of course he couldn't, and if he could it would be the lamest super power ever!

He almost smiled when he thought about that one. _Decepticon vision!_

"Hey Huffer!" Cliffjumper shouted abruptly from behind Huffer's chair; startling the poor mech.

"Hey, don't do that!" Huffer griped, "You almost gave me a spark attack!"

"Yeah, whatever!" Cliffjumper replied dismissively, "I'm here to relieve you of duty. Get out of my chair!"

Huffer grumbled but complied with the order. He was glad to get out of monitor duty finally, but he still didn't like the way Cliffjumper spoke to him.

 _Ah, well_...Huffer thought despondently. _I guess you can't have everything. Of course, having something to look forward to besides another day of_ this _would be nice…_

Huffer went back to his quarters. One thing that was nice about the Ark was that most of the Autobots got their own rooms. He still remembered being stationed on the Gem back during the early days of the war. He shared a tiny room with 3 other mechs! It was miserable! He supposed the Lamborghini twins Sideswipe and Sunstreaker shared a room, but most mechs on this ship didn't have to.

With a resigned sigh he sat down at his computer looking for something to do. Most of the crew was interested in the human computer games and Internet, but not Huffer. He had Blaster rig up a wireless port to Cybertron so he could get reports on various battles or the results of sports games. It wasn't much, and most of it wasn't good news, but at least it was something Cybertronian.

He searched the reports for something interesting. Nothing. Typical! He searched for games he might want to place a bet on with Smokescreen. Nothing. Of course! He was getting desperate for something to do to take his mind off earth when a pop-up ad appeared on his monitor: MEET HOT FEMMES NOW! JOIN COURTITRON!

"Aw, geez! I finally get mail and it's a stupid ad! My life sucks!" Huffer whined as he looked at the flashing ad on the screen, "Then again, maybe that is what I'm missing. A little romance. A little excitement. Hm...Nah!"

Huffer got up out of his chair and went to recharge, but the thought was still lingering in his processor. That pop-up ad was obviously a scam, but maybe he could find a legitimate dating service for Cybertronians. On the other servo, femmes were rare since the war had seen most of them killed off by either Megatron or starvation. With so few left, they could have their pick of any mech they chose. Why would a femme want Huffer? What could he possibly have to offer a femme that they couldn't get from an officer from either faction?

He shook his head to try to dismiss the idea, but something unusual was happening. Something that he normally never felt was coming over him...The need to try.

* * *

Huffer found a site called cyberdate,trn and was immediately asked for his personal information. Gears was there to observe, and frankly it was hard to tell which one was being the bigger pessimist.

"Favorite color? They all stink!" Huffer griped.

"Just say blue. Femmes love blue," Gears suggested, "Or you could put the color of your spark: grey."

"I'm goin' with blue," Huffer replied; not paying attention to Gear's remarks, "Okay, here it asks if I'm a leader or a follower. Problem is I'm neither. I'm not a leader, but I hate it when people give me orders so I'm not a follower."

"You're a follower," Gears replied matter-of-factly, "No matter what orders you're given even if you hate them, you still follow them. You do your duty and that's nothing to be ashamed of. Check follower."

"Fine, if you insist," Huffer said reluctantly; knowing Gears was right but not willing to admit it, "Okay, here it's asking for confirmed kills. Um, could you turn around? This is kinda personal…"

"Sure, pal. I won't ask yours if you don't ask mine," Gears drawled as he turned his back to the computer screen.

Huffer waited until he was sure Gears wasn't watching and typed 43. It was almost nothing compared to what other soldiers had done, but he still felt guilty that it was even that high. He never did get used to this war…

When he was finished with the questions he logged in to see all the different mechs and femmes logged in to the site. There were 167 mechs, and 12 femmes.

"This is hopeless!" Huffer wailed in defeat, "Look at all these guys! The femmes are the ones who have to contact the mechs on this sight! How am I supposed to get a femme to notice me with all these other guys on here? It's just not fair!"

"Hey, I recognize some of these names," Gears informed Huffer, "Most of these guys are Decepticons."

"Of course they are!" Huffer exclaimed miserably, "Decepticons outnumber Autobots 10 to 1 on Cybertron! In another thousand years we'll probably be extinct!"

"Yeah, you thinking of defecting?" Gears asked sardonically.

"Of course not!" Huffer snapped; offended despite his friend's joking tone, "I'm an Autobot, and I'll die an Autobot! Probably soon with my lousy luck."

Huffer and Gears both knew the evil the Decepticons had committed in Megatron's name. They knew of femmes and sparklings being ripped apart by vicious Seekers and entire cities burning to the ground because of Gestalts grinding them into dust! They both knew that the Decepticons would stop at nothing short of genocide to achieve their collective goal of tyrannical conquest.

No, Huffer would _never_ join the Decepticons! He would rather die! Gears felt bad for saying anything about it. He also knew what the merciless Megatron was capable of, and he wouldn't wish that on anyone.

"Maybe there aren't any Autobot femmes left unattached," Huffer wondered, "If there are, I doubt any of them would be compatible with me. Look at all these guys. I've got no chance…"

"Maybe you're right," Gears said glumly, "Listen, I need to go by to see Ratchet about some ointment for my ball bearings. Care to come with me? I could use a buffer for old Ratchet the Hatchet."

"Sure thing, pal," Huffer said as they left the room, "Maybe I can bum some bug spray while I'm in there. There are these butterflies that hang around near my window. They drive me nuts…"

Their conversation continued as they walked down the halls. Every other mech they passed by was taller than them, but together they felt confident (if grouchy). One thing Huffer was grateful for was that Gears never lied to him. No matter how grim the truth was Gears would never give Huffer sweet but hollow words. They understood each other better than anyone else. Even if Huffer could never find a femme, at least he had a friend.


	2. Chapter 2

_Author's Notes: One thing I didn't anticipate with this fic is not being able to type out a fake website. I really thought this thing would be able to tell the difference! Oh well, without being able to type the fake webpage or the symbol, I had to get creative with the character's email addresses. I hope it's legible. I've seen it done better before, but I also wanted to make it look a little alien since it's supposed to be Cybertronian. Anyway, please review, follow, and/or favorite :)_

* * *

Chapter 2

"Another rotten day!" Huffer groused as he stomped through the rec room with his cube of energon, "Stupid Jazz and his stupid earth music! It's so distracting! Then I can't hear what's goin' on around me and I crash into a tree! Thanks a lot, Jazzman! Now I'm stuck with clean up duty with the twins...will probably get beaten up by Sunstreaker or pranked by that stupid Sideswipe…"

Huffer continued to grumble and mutter under his breath until he reached the door to his quarters. It was the closest thing to a refuge on this miserable planet, but even that was a limited comfort compared to the rest of his life.

He drank his cube and thought about the punishment that awaited him tomorrow. He logged onto his computer wondering what the point was. Nobody on earth ever contacted him, and nobody on Cybertron was willing to pay the credits required to send a long range message just to talk to him!

He checked his messages despite that, however, and noticed an email from that dating sight he had registered with the week before!

::You have 1 new femme interested in chatting with you. Accept/Block?::

"A femme? _Really_? There's gotta be a catch!" Huffer rationalized.

Still, he had to know! Maybe this wasn't a mistake or a prank (if this was Sideswipe he would kill him!) and maybe the femme might even like him! Maybe…

"Hm, let's see what we've got here…" Huffer said quietly as he clicked accept, "Her name is Nova Beam. She's 13,000 vorns old (kinda young), 18'7", and it says her interests are water gliding, stunt flying, and reading a good data pad by a cozy furnace. Huh, so she's a jock? A femme that tall and that interesting will never go for a dumpy minibot like me!"

Huffer was close to deleting the profile. He didn't feel like facing rejection from a femme that great. She could have any other 'Bot or 'Con on that site and he knew it! Still, he was at least curious. The worst she could do was say no to him. Maybe if he sent her a picture that would settle this matter once and for all.

He picked a picture of the entire group standing before the newly constructed Ark. He circled which one he was, and realized to his dismay that he was probably one of the shortest guys in the photo (besides Gears and Windcharger). Even Bumblebee was taller than him! Heck, he could almost look a human in the optics! Oh well, at least she would know…

* * *

Stationed at a base in Tarn on Cybertron, Nova Beam got in from a day of maneuvers and pointless drills! Training was so boring! Everyone knew she and her sisters would never see any real action, and she was starting to feel the sting of futility when she woke up in the mornings.

Hoping to take her mind off the monotony, she turned on her computer and waited for the lousy thing to load. Laugh Riot and Tremor would be back from simulation practice soon, so she couldn't afford to take too long on their shared computer terminal.

She looked through the long-range emails to find a new message!

::Message from: (Huffer,via,cyberdate,trn) 43 breems ago. 5 creds to view message. Do you accept the charges? Y/N?::

"Yes!' Nova Beam said excitedly.

Despite being one of only a few femmes on the site, she still had trouble finding someone who was beyond 35% compatible. Huffer's profile had shown that he was 68% compatible, and Nova Beam was so excited to finally start a relationship. Now she would have an excuse to turn down her arrogant commanding officer Thorn Wind.

She opened the message after paying the 5 credits. She knew dating a mech on Cybertron would be cheaper, but she believed in quality over convenience. The email didn't have much. It was just a picture of the Autobot elite with a mech circled and a caption at the bottom that said 'Are you sure? Still time to back out…'

Nova Beam studied the photo for a few astro seconds trying to figure out what it meant. She zoomed in on the circled mech. He was periwinkle blue with a bright yellowish orange truck bed on his back. Was this Huffer? Was he a member of Optimus Prime's inner circle?

Suddenly, the door to their shared room opened and Laugh Riot bounced in! Nova Beam shut off the computer immediately; unwilling to let her sister see what she had been doing.

"Hey, Nova Beam!" Laugh Riot, a maroon and black colored Seeker, shouted at her white and black trinemate Nova Beam, "Tremor says she'll be back soon. Until then, let's do something fun! I know a market that sells wind chimes...We should fly by and set them all off at once! It'll drive everybody nuts!"

"Um, no thanks!" Nova Beam replied nervously, "I think I'll just stay here and catch up on reports!"

"Ach! What reports?" Laugh Riot asked disdainfully, "There haven't been any Autobot sightings in this sector for vorns! We're just flapping our wings going nowhere! Come on, let's do something! I'll bet I can break my record for most free drinks received in one night! Come on, join me! I don't wanna party by myself!"

"Then ask Tremor," Nova Beam suggested irritably.

"No way! She's our commanding officer!" Laugh Riot argued, "Besides, she's an even bigger stickler than you!"

With those words Laugh Riot turned on her heel and used her thrusters to propel herself out of the room. Nova Beam breathed a sigh of relief. She loved her trine, really she did, but Laugh Riot couldn't keep a secret if her spark depended on it!

Nova Beam turned the computer back on and looked again at the photo. Did Huffer work with Optimus Prime, or had he just met him briefly and was proud of the picture taken with him? She shuddered at the idea of anyone being proud to be around Optimus Prime! He was the most infamous of all the Autobot rebels! He could battle Megatron himself on even terms!

Nova Beam sighed miserably. Huffer was cute. She always liked short mechs. He also had the thick rough hands of a working mech. She could picture him standing triumphantly on the battlefield with a confident smirk like those soldiers in the news. She wanted to email him; wanted to tell him she was willing to form a relationship with him, but those blue optics and that red sigil were holding her back. He was an Autobot! How could she live with herself if she formed an attachment to the enemy?

On the other servo, he lived on another planet. She checked the email again...earth. His planet was called earth. Wait! That was where the Ark...Okay, so he _was_ with Optimus Prime! Still, she would never be assigned such a grand mission. She was just an enlisted femme. She and her sisters were nothing but cannon fodder. She would never have to fight Huffer. Besides, it might be kind of cool to date an elite rebel in secret like some sort of romantic heroine…

Nodding her head in silent affirmation, Nova Beam composed an email that she hoped wouldn't sound like slag and sent it to Huffer.

* * *

::Message from: (NovaBeam,via,cyberdate,trn) 38 Astro seconds ago. 5 creds to view message. Do you accept the charges? Y/N?::

 _Y_

::Hi, Huffer. This is Nova Beam. I got your photo. You are so cute :3 Anyway, I just want to say that I know online dating can be scary, but if you're willing to give me a chance, then I'm willing to give you a chance as well. I hope you will tell me more about your life on planet earth and about the Autobots you work with. I'm curious because I've never left Cybertron, and it would be nice to talk about something besides the war and stupid combat maneuvers! Seriously, who decided that acid rain was good weather for outdoor training? AGH! Anyway, hope to hear from you soon.

Yours for now, Nova Beam :3 ::

"I don't believe it…" Huffer said softly as he read the message, and then suddenly he shouted, "SHE SAID YES!"


	3. Chapter 3

_Author's Notes: For this chapter I'm doing mostly emails between Huffer and Nova Beam. I'm not going to do every chapter that way, but it helps to establish what communication between the two would look like. Anyway, I hope you guys like this story so far! Please review, favorite, and/or follow to see more :)_

* * *

Chapter 3

::Message from: Huffer,via,cyberdate,trn 1 joor ago. 5 creds to view message. Do you accept the charges? Y/N?::

Y

::Hey, Nova Beam. How's it going? Things ain't so good here. It's so hot! You don't know how lucky you are that there's no star orbiting Cybertron! The sun is such a pain in the transistors! I've spent most of the day cooped up in my room so I won't have to see anybody.

Nobody believes me when I say this, but I'm really NOT trying to offend our human hosts. I know they can't help it that they live on a pollen-coated mudball, but it's just so frustrating trying to fit in here! And the worst part? I have to see mechs like Bumblebee and Hound having the time of their lives while I'm just trying to maintain my sanity! They're crazy! Anyway, I hope to hear from you soon. Your emails make getting up in the morning almost worth it. Almost. JK ;)

Yours truly, Huffer::

* * *

::Message from: NovaBeam,via,cyberdate,trn 700 astro seconds ago. 5 creds to view message. Do you accept the charges? Y/N?::

Y

::Hi Huffer! I was so glad to hear from you! I'm sorry things on earth are so miserable for you right now. I don't think it's right for your so-called friends to flaunt their social prowess when you're obviously in need of someone to talk to. I understand. I have a sister named Laugh Riot, and she is exactly the same! I mean, I'm usually easy to get along with, don't get me wrong, but I can't stand it when I'm feeling low and she ignores my need for solitude and invites her rowdy friends over!

On a lighter note, I was wondering if you could do me a HUGE favor? Please? I was just wondering if you could send me a pic of the ocean on earth. I heard their water is some of the most beautiful in all the galaxy! I wish I could see it for myself, but I'm not important enough for a mission so far away…

Anyway, if you click the link below, you'll see an attachment of a spire in the town of Polyhex. I'm not stationed there, but I went there on vacation last cycle. I'm stationed in Tarn. UGH! It is SOOOO boring! When you do make it back to Cybertron, don't go to Tarn! Go literally _anywhere else!_

Love you lots :3 Nova Beam::

* * *

::Message from: Huffer,via,cyberdate,trn 52 breems ago. 5 creds to view message. Do you accept the charges? Y/N?::

Y

::It's weird you should send me a photo of that spire. I actually worked on that very building before the war! Funny how life works, huh? I wasn't the only one who worked on it, though. Grapple was the designer, but I helped make the finished product! It's terrible to see the state of disrepair on that thing! I don't know if you remember what it looked like before, but it was incredible! That building used to house some of the finest art on Cybertron! Hey, what's it used for now? Just curious…

I really do miss being able to work construction like I used to. Sometimes I repair things for the humans after a battle. That's pretty neat actually. When I'm just working with the steel or the concrete I can forget my troubles. It's kinda therapeutic in a way. I guess I sound weird, huh? Or maybe boring...I don't know. Oh, BTW, here's the pic of the ocean you wanted! I got Seaspray to go with me so we could find the most scenic view. I took one pic at mid-afternoon and one at sunset near a rock sticking out of the water. Let me know which one you like best!

Yours truly, Huffer::

* * *

::Message from: NovaBeam,via,cyberdate,trn 952 astro seconds ago. 5 creds to view message. Do you accept the charges? Y/N?::

Y

::Definitely the mid-afternoon! You can see the water better that way :3

Anyway, I've just gotta tell you about something funny that happened to me today! I was waiting in the rec room for my sisters Laugh Riot and Tremor to finish up with maneuvers so we could grab some energon, and Freefall (one of our science officers and resident geeks) comes strolling into the room like he's Starscream or something. Well, anyway, he starts chatting up one of our superior officers and I don't know what the officer said to him, but Freefall took a drink of his energon while the mech was speaking, and after a breem or two the officer said something that caused Freefall to shoot energon out of his nosecone! It was too funny! LOL!

So how has everything been with you? One of my colleagues said humans are really tiny. Are they actually tiny? I mean like, could you really squish one if you weren't looking? Just curious.

Oh, speaking of curiosity! You asked about the spire...Well, I looked it up, and it's currently a storage facility for the Decepticon aerial squadron. I don't think it has weapons though. More like energon reserves and spare parts. I guess they picked a ruined looking building so the Autobots wouldn't...Of course, no one would want the low-grade swill they'd keep in a building like that! Even the guards look like they want to torch the place!

Oh, I'm so sorry...I know your work probably meant a lot to you. Well, don't worry! We'll survive this war, and when it's over you and I can rebuild that spire together and make it even more beautiful than before!

Oh, my sisters are coming back! Talk to you later!

Yours for now! :3 ::

* * *

"Whew!" Nova Beam breathed after she sent the email, "That was too close! I hope I didn't accidentally give away government secrets to the enemy! Hm...How can I call Huffer the enemy like that? He's been nothing but nice and honest with me! Oh well. Maybe I shouldn't get too involved. After all, this is just a little fun. A good time until my next mission. Yeah…"

She stopped talking to herself when Tremor, a black and grey seeker with a perpetual bored expression on her face, came into the room and started vacuuming the berths.

Nova Beam tried to convince herself that the emails between her and Huffer didn't mean anything, but her spark knew that was a lie. She had gone to an artist in town and had the mid-afternoon ocean picture solidified in crystal and framed it on her side of the wall. The others had asked her what it was, but she never gave them a straight answer. Evasive maneuvers were a Seeker's registered trademark.

No, this relationship with Huffer wasn't a permanent thing yet, but it was getting there. She knew she was serious about Huffer when she suggested fixing the spire he helped to build. She _actually_ felt bad for him. It was blasphemous! She felt sorry for an Autobot because his faction was too weak to keep control of a building! It wasn't even an important building! Just a stupid storage facility!

Still...She allowed herself to see it through Huffer's optics. The crumbled black spire was once a beautiful steel blue tower with rows of glorious artwork adorning its walls and sculptures standing in its halls. No matter what work of art lay inside however, it was Huffer's art that everyone saw first; the building itself!

She sighed wearily and tried to make her thoughts be quiet. She still hadn't told Tremor or Laugh Riot about her scandalous relationship with Huffer. She doubted they would understand.


	4. Chapter 4

_Author's Notes: Well, I'm pretty happy with how this chapter turned out! I would also like to thank those who have followed and favorited this fic! Honestly, I wasn't sure if anyone would want to read this kind of story or not, but I'm glad there is an audience for it :)_

 _Please review, favorite, and/or follow. I love hearing from my readers :)_

* * *

Chapter 4

Huffer sat around the rec room talking with Gears and Powerglide and sipping along on his mid grade energon. HIs thoughts were a million light years away, however, as he thought about what message might be waiting for him at his computer. He and Nova Beam had been dating for a few earth months at this point, but that was plenty of time for him to be completely smitten.

"...And so then I dive bomb his sorry afterburners and claim victory for the Autobots!" Powerglide had finished his anecdote, "Pretty awesome, huh? All thanks to the aerial skills of Powerglide!"

"Yeah, yeah, whatever!" Gears groused, "All I asked was whether or not you had any anti-rust cream!"

Huffer laughed jovially at his friends' antics, and both of them looked at him like he grew a second helm! Huffer _never_ laughed like that! Heck, Powerglide wasn't even sure if Huffer could smile!

"What's gotten into you?" Gears asked gruffly, "You're giggling like an idiot!"

"Oh nothin'..." Huffer replied airily, "I was just thinkin' about anti-rust cream. You should've known Powerglide wouldn't have any, otherwise he wouldn't be that hideous shade of red! Haha!"

Powerglide looked utterly scandalized! He was a pretty vain minibot, and hated it when anyone insulted his appearance! Gears cracked a smile but still wasn't in a good enough mood to laugh. That all changed when Huffer started pretending to scrape rust off his nonexistent wings and making screeching noises.

"Ugh! You are so immature!" Powerglide huffed before he got out of his chair and left, "I'm not talking to you until you apologize!"

Huffer and Gears watched him go, both chuckling about their egotistical friend. Gears was the first to break the silence when he said "You've been in a good mood. Let me guess, this has to do with _her_."

Huffer looked around to make sure no one was listening, and then discreetly nodded. Gears was the only one so far that even knew Huffer had a girlfriend, and for some reason Huffer was still too shy to talk about it with anyone else.

"Yeah," Huffer said softly so no one else could overhear, "The pretending to scrape rust off a wing bit was actually something Nova Beam did to one of her superior officers. She has such a zest for life, ya know? It makes me wanna try new things. I guess that's stupid, right?"

"No, I get it," Gears dismissed Huffer's concerns, "Being in love is kinda like drinking high grade. At first you don't notice anything's changed, but before long you're feeling lighter than air and making a fool out of yourself in front of your friends."

"Yeah, I guess that's true…" Huffer said, starting to realize how ridiculous he must look to the other minibots.

"You know, Powerglide has a new girl too," Gears mentioned offhandedly.

"Really? He found a femme too?" Huffer asked; his curiosity peaked, "I guess that's not too surprising. Ain't too many Autobot fliers; especially in Prime's unit. I guess any femme would feel lucky to have him."

"She ain't a femme," Gears replied sourly, "She's a human."

" _What_?!" Huffer nearly spit out his energon when Gears said that, "A _human_?"

"Yeah, apparently Powerglide fell in love with one of the locals," Gears shrugged as if he too couldn't quite believe it, "Her name is Astoria. Dumb name if you ask me, but of course no one ever asks me! Seriously, as if he didn't strut around enough! Now he's going to be insufferable! I mean, you know, more so than usual. He's been showing her picture around to everyone! It's disgusting! Why would he think any of us care what his squishy girlfriend looks like?"

As Gears began to mutter under his breath about the absurdity of it all, Huffer took a drink of his energon and realized something. Nova Beam had never sent him a photo of herself. He had seen buildings she visited, blueprints she'd bought for him so he could deconstruct them, and she even took pictures of exotic animals she saw at the market, but she never sent him a picture of her.

* * *

::Message from: Huffer,via,cyberdate,trn 37 breems ago. 5 creds to view message. Do you accept the charges? Y/N?::

Y

::Hey Nova Beam, it's Optimus Prime! JK, it's Huffer ;)

Listen babe, I was just thinking about something, and I wanted to ask you a favor. I would love it if you sent me a pic of yourself. I can't believe all this time together and I don't even know what you look like! Oh, and just so you know, I don't care if you think you're ugly. I want the pic anyway. Just, you know, something I can solidify and keep on my desk. No matter what you look like, you're beautiful to me. Aw, _scrap_! That sounds so corny! It's true though...I know you, and who you are on the inside makes you beautiful- aw come on! Why am I speaking in greeting card? You know what? I'm stopping before I say something even stupider! Just send the pic, okay?

Yours truly, Huffer::

* * *

Nova Beam read the message, and her energon ran cold! _Send a picture_? That would ruin everything! The first thing he would notice would be that she was a Seeker in the Decepticon Air Force! The next he would notice would be the purple sigils on her wings! The last thing he would notice would be her scarlet red optics!

Nova Beam paced around the room! What was she going to do? Huffer wanted to see her, but if he saw her he would break up with her! She was in love with him already and she didn't want to lose him!

Worse, what if he told Autobot forces everything she had told him about her unit? Nova Beam was the worst at keeping secrets! She even told him about buildings that were supposed to be classified! Would Autobots catch her and her sisters? Would they be killed? Would Huffer really do this to her?

She huddled against a corner and shook. What excuse could she come up with to not send him a picture? How long would he put up with her secrecy and lies? She didn't even notice when Tremor entered the room and walked closer to her.

Nova Beam finally looked up when Tremor's black wings created an ominous shadow over her. She had been leaking coolant out of her optics, and was in such distress that she didn't even care if her commander saw.

"Nova Beam?" Tremor's sepulchral voice was calm yet concerned, "Has something happened to you?"

"Nothing, Tremor," Nova Beam lied; not willing to divulge her secret affair to Tremor.

"Get up," Tremor commanded, "Sit on your berth."

Nova Beam did as she was ordered to do. She was worried Tremor would punish her for being late for training or possibly even for leaking coolant on their clean floor. She looked at Tremor with miserable optics and waited for whatever was coming.

Instead of harsh words and punishment, however, Tremor put her arm around her sister's shoulder vents and rocked her trinemate back and forth in a soothing way.

"Nova Beam, do not think I have not noticed your strange behavior," Tremor said as she continued the rocking motion, "You rush to your computer every night after your shift, you started collecting solidified photographs of alien worlds, and you have often spoken of Megatron's mission to earth. Tell me, have you finally started to feel the pull of ambition? Do you want more for this trine?"

"That's not it..." Nova Beam sniffed as she struggled to get coolant out of her vents, "...I have a boyfriend..."

With those words Nova Beam felt a weight lift from her, and yet her spark felt like it was caught in a vice! She had confessed the unmentionable, and had now trusted her life to Tremor. Then again, Tremor was usually better about discretion than Laugh Riot, so that was something at least.

"Did he break up with you?" Tremor asked, "Or perhaps cheat on you?"

"No, Tremor," Nova Beam replied solemnly, "He wants a picture of me."

"So?" Tremor asked obliviously.

"Well...He's an Autobot," Nova Beam whispered guiltily.

" _What_?" Tremor exclaimed; suddenly alert.

"Wait, please! Let me explain!" Nova Beam held her hands out and spoke quickly, "He doesn't know I'm a Decepticon, but if I send him a photo then he will know and security could be compromised!"

"I see…" Tremor was silent for a moment, and then asked "Is this a covert mission? Are you dating an Autobot online in an attempt to gain secrets from them?"

Nova Beam's first instinct was to say no, but then she realized how much easier this would go if she agreed with her sister's deduction. Tremor might even help her if she thought it was for a top secret assignment! After all, their unit wasn't very important. If Tremor felt they were useful to the Decepticon cause, then she would do anything to help!

"Yes, I've been dating a member of Prime's elite in an effort to learn more about the mission on earth," Nova Beam lied.

"You cannot be serious!" Tremor scoffed, "No one would trust a grunt like you with an assignment that important!"

"Exactly!" Nova Beam said hurriedly, "They needed a femme the elite Autobots don't already know about, and since I'm a nobody I was perfect! I can prove it!"

Nova Beam then went over her email history until she found the first photo Huffer had ever sent to her; the photo from the Ark. She showed it to Tremor, and Tremor's optics went wide with shock!

"You see, this is Optimus Prime's command unit, and circled here is Huffer, one of Prime's builders," Nova Beam explained.

"You picked a perfect target," Tremor commented, "He's important, but not too important. He is small, ugly, and would probably be grateful for any attention he got from a femme. Seriously, just compliment his alt mode and he'd probably join the Decepticons for you!"

Tremor then let out a sinister laugh. Nova Beam wasn't used to hearing Tremor laugh, and she didn't like it. Especially since the target of her amusement was Huffer. Nova Beam felt indignant! Huffer wasn't ugly and he wasn't a target! He had a beautiful spark and a creativity that so few mechs would ever get to see, yet he let her into his world! She loved Huffer, and despite how much she respected her trine leader she actually wanted to hit Tremor in that moment!

Still, Nova Beam knew that wouldn't help anything, so she bit her glossa and tried to remain calm.

"So Tremor...How do I get around sending him a photo of me?" Nova Beam asked.

"You don't," Tremor said point blank.

"What? But I can't let him see me!" Nova Beam whined.

"Listen to me!" Tremor snapped, "You take a headshot of yourself so your wings aren't visible, and I will doctor the photo so the red optics appear to be blue. He will have his photo, and you will have your secret. Agreed?"

"Yeah, agreed," Nova Beam replied in a small defeated voice.

She hated the lie, but at least she wasn't using him like Tremor wanted her to. She hated herself for getting into this mess, but she couldn't stop. Not now. Maybe when the war was over she could tell him everything. Maybe then he would understand. Until then, she would be content with emails and promises of tomorrow.


	5. Chapter 5

_Author's Notes: I would like to thank **Vigatus** and **Miratete** for their positive reviews on this story so far! I've had a hectic schedule, so it's nice to be able to sit down and write a chapter in one of my fics. Hope it turned out alright :)_

* * *

Chapter 5

Huffer had the picture of Nova Beam solidified and had placed it on his computer desk in his room. It wasn't a full body shot, but it was nice to see the face behind the femme. She had such beautiful blue optics, and a helm like fine porcelain.

His shift that day had gone about as well as he expected. He was 5 minutes late, which meant all the good patrol partners were gone and he got stuck with that hippie Beachcomber! For an entire joor he was stuck on the road listening to anecdotes about the beauty of the cosmos (not the Autobot Cosmos; outer space), and about how Beachcomber had once rescued a flock of birds from a power line that had been blown away in a storm. It was so tedious!

When Huffer made it back to his computer he was almost praying for an email so he'd have something to focus on besides stories about brotherly love and how the hallucinogenic effects of ener-jolts were never scientifically proven. Like Huffer cared about that! Unfortunately, no new email came.

"That's odd…" Huffer said to himself, "Normally she sends me a message at least twice an orn, but I haven't heard from her in two orns. What happened? Is she in trouble? Did she forget? Maybe she figured out she can do better...No, that can't be it! Not Nova Beam! We've been together for months! She would've told me if she was tired of me! Pit, maybe she was killed by Decepticons! I wonder if a miserable existence is contagious...Maybe she caught one from me."

Huffer sighed longingly and stared at the computer screen for a moment. When the secret to Nova Beam's disappearance didn't materialize before him, Huffer decided that he had better things to do than pine over a femme. Slouching as he moved, Huffer made his way to the shooting range for weapons training.

* * *

A trench! Of all the places for them to wind up, it had to be a slagging trench! Thorn Wind was an idiot if he believed a trench was an effective place for a Seeker to fight! Slag, _he_ of all mechs should know better!

Nova Beam, Laugh Riot, and Tremor were hunched behind a low-lying metallic wall. They were crouched down in the aforementioned trench and taking heavy fire from the Autobot forces! Their unit rarely had to deal with Autobots (other Decepticons were actually a bigger threat), so therefore the Seekers were unprepared for what was going on around them.

Laugh Riot threw a grenade but was shot in the helm before she could see if it hit its target! Tremor grabbed her fallen sister and scanned her for life signs...Still alive! She placed Laugh Riot carefully out of the way and ventured a brief glance at what was going on around them. Bad idea...An Autobot soldier was hovering over their trench and had a pistol aimed right for Nova Beam's helm!

"Any last words, Decepticreeps?" The Autobot asked gruffly as he pressed the pistol harder into Nova Beam's head.

Nova Beam's red optics widened as she looked the Autobot combatant right in the face. She felt fear she hadn't felt in a while. It wasn't that she'd never been threatened before, but now that she was older she felt she had more to live for. She had her trine, she had her job, and now she even had a mech waiting for her out there beyond the visible stars! She didn't want to die!

His full attention was on Nova Beam, so the Autobot didn't even notice when Tremor threw another grenade right into his hip joint! The blast sent the Autobot flying back and screaming in agony! Nova Beam dared to look at where he landed, and saw a group of Autobots gathering their fallen comrade and taking him away.

"Do you think it's safe to move Laugh Riot?" Nova Beam asked worriedly.

Tremor looked out and said "No. There are too many Autobots out there. We have to stay here and wait for backup."

"Backup might not be coming!" Nova Beam argued, "Nobody cares about us! We're all going to die if we stay here! At least we need to move to a safer hiding spot!"

Tremor looked mournfully up at the sky. The Autobots had set up a turret system that would shoot all Seekers out of the air instantly. She wished she could slash every tire in their army!

Then Tremor saw the cover they had been looking for...

"Come on, I've got an idea!" Tremor called out as she started moving away from the front; Laugh Riot draped gracelessly over her left shoulder and wing.

Nova Beam didn't question it; she just followed her trinemate and hoped the black and grey Seeker knew what she was doing.

They ran to a gutted building near the Autobot side of the border. It was suicide for a Decepticon to stay here very long, but they needed the shelter while Tremor repaired Laugh Riot. Nova Beam once again lamented the fact that she wasn't handy with medical stuff like Tremor. It seemed like there wasn't a lot Nova Beam could do that was useful in battle.

Tremor started patching leaking energon lines around Laugh Riot's helm. The purple-red Seeker groaned and coughed at being prodded like that without something for the pain. Laugh Riot blearily tried to online her optics, but the red flashes of light kept flickering on and off rapidly. In short, she looked like slag.

After a few minutes of progress, Tremor announced "I need a sharp piece of metal to cut away the shrapnel inside Laugh Riot's helm. Go further into the building and find one."

"Yes, Tremor," Nova Beam replied without question or complaint.

She walked into the old building and searched for the perfect chunk of sharp metal. To keep herself from getting scared she tried to figure out how old this building was. Huffer had taught her a trick for determining the age of a Cybertronian building. All buildings built during the Prime Age had black iron embossed signatures on the bottom, all Golden Age buildings had platinum piping along the baseboards, and buildings made during the war used shoddy materials because everyone knew they would be blown up anyway.

Nova Beam looked at the baseboards. No platinum piping or indents where platinum would've been. So, not the Golden Age. She looked around a little more...Base metal. It was post-war construction. Therefore, it could not be one of Huffer's.

Nova Beam finally found the jagged metal she was sent to retrieve and scooped it up off the floor; grateful to be allowed to get back to her sisters as quickly as possible. She hated being alone in this dark and crumbling building.

As she tried to find her way back, however, she saw a small form hunched behind a staircase and muttering softly into his comm system.

"...No, Downbeat, I haven't seen any 'Cons in this old wreck," the Autobot behind the stairs whispered, "...I know but...Can I come back now? I'm scared! I've never been on a mission before! I didn't know it was going to be this way! I'm not even ten vorns old yet! Why do I have to do this? … I know that, but … I know the Decepticons are evil, but do you really think they'd kill a youngling that- … Right. I guess they would. They _have_. I know … Yeah, I'll come back as soon as the coast is clear. Wordplay out."

The Autobot turned off the comm signal and looked ahead of him once more. He didn't see anything, so he thought it was safe to move about. He turned around, and he was staring down the barrel of Nova Beam's laser pistol! She was right _there_!

"You know Autobot, I've been here for half a breem," Nova Beam pointed out as she pushed her pistol closer to Wordplay's face, "I could've shot you at any point during your conversation."

"Yeah, well then why didn't you?" Wordplay asked suspiciously.

"I don't know," Nova Beam shrugged noncommittally, "So...You know anything about repairing holes in mechs? My sister has a pretty bad hole in her helm. You wanna try to fix it for me?"

"Why should I help you, Seeker?" Wordplay spat.

"Because your life depends on it, _Wordplay_ ," Nova Beam emphasized his name to point out how rude it was to just be called Seeker, "Oh, by the way, my name's Nova Beam."

She forced the Autobot to follow her to where Tremor was still try to repair Laugh Riot and growing more frustrated with the results. The energon lines were cauterized, but the pieces of loose metal were getting into other systems! Wordplay wasn't a medic, but he was a scientist, so he had small tools built into his digits. He was able to fish out most of the offending shrapnel.

Nova Beam smiled, but she was still troubled. She knew the real reason she saved him, and it wasn't for medical help. He was a minibot, and a truck former. His boxy frame and diminutive size reminded her of Huffer. She knew she was going soft, but didn't really know what to do about that.

* * *

::Message from: NovaBeam,via,cyberdate,trn 18 astro seconds ago. 5 creds to view message. Do you accept the charges? Y/N?::

Y

::Hey Huffer, I'm so sorry it took me two and a half orns to write back to you! My sisters and I got caught in the crossfire of a skirmish. We lost 2 of our mechs, but I gained a new friend on the battlefield. His name is Wordplay, and I saved his life. I don't know if I'll ever see him again, but I hope I do. He helped to save Laugh Riot's life. Even Tremor was in a good mood after that, and she's _never_ in a good mood! Well, that's all the news I can think of for now. Let me know what's been happening in the Ark! Can't wait :3

Love, Nova Beam::


	6. Chapter 6

_Author's Notes: I like the way this chapter turned out. I tried to add more details to this one, but I kept the same tone and pacing that the story already has so it wouldn't look out of place. Hopefully you guys like this chapter, too! Please review if you feel like it; I love reading reviews! Anyway, on with the fic :)_

* * *

Chapter 6

Swindle sat at his console at the Combaticons' base (hole in the ground with stuff in it) and typed another message. He had been typing messages for several hours and was lost in his own little profit-making world. Blast Off came upon Swindle when the latter was in the middle of a particularly sensitive communique. He looked over Swindle's shoulder to see what his gestalt mate was working on, and had to suppress a snort of laughter when he saw what Swindle was doing.

"Um, Swindle?" Blast Off was hesitant as he spoke, "Why are you calling yourself Cylinder in that message, and why did you just tell that mech you wanted to _twist his cogs until he screamed your name in ecstasy?"_

"Because he's paying me 10 creds per breem," Swindle replied nonchalantly, "This is one of my current scams. It's called Courtitron. I've been runnin' it for about 18 earth months now. I set up an instant message network that can be accessed from anywhere in the galaxy, and then pretend to be several femmes to get lonely mechs to pay big money to chat with me. You want in? I could use an extra pair of servos at the keyboard."

"You idiot!" Blast Off exclaimed without any real malice, "You invent a chat network from the ground up and you use it for such a small scam?! Don't you even _see_ the possibilities? If you charged for access to the network itself then you could rake in the credits without having to type a single message yourself! Also, if you set up separate encrypted networks for Autobots, Decepticons, and Neutrals then you would triple your profits!"

Blast Off had a point, and Swindle was enthralled by the prospects available to him! When Blast Off talked about triple profits he thought he was going to go into stasis lock from thinking about all those creds and the thousands of customers he would have! Not only that, but he would be the administrator, so he could hack into sensitive conversations and sell the secrets he learned to whichever faction would pay him the most for them!

Swindle and Blast Off smiled at one another. They were about to be _very_ rich mechs.

* * *

::Message from: NovaBeam,via,cyberdate,trn 74 breems ago. 5 creds to view message. Do you accept the charges? Y/N?::

Y

::Hi, Huffer! I just found out about a cool new system that lets you send instant texts for a per-breem fee called combichat,abt. That's the Autobot version. If you think it's a good idea, my username is NBAviator,via,combichat,abt :3

Let me know, Nova Beam :3 ::

* * *

::Message from: Huffer,via,cyberdate,trn 482 astro seconds ago. 5 creds to view message. Do you accept the charges? Y/N?::

Y

::Hey, Nova Beam. I looked into it, and it looks legit. We couldn't do it all the time because of the expense, but I don't think it's a bad idea to use it sometimes. It would be nice to hold a real-time conversation with you. I registered on the new site as HuffNstuff,via,combichat,abt ;)

Also, I'm sending you a pic of me standing next to a human that lives on our ship named Sparkplug. This should give you an idea of how big humans are compared to us, or rather how big they ain't. Anyway, hope you're doing okay on Cybertron. I wish I was there with you. I really do!

Yours truly, Huffer::

* * *

Huffer logged out of his computer and sighed contentedly. Things were finally starting to go his way. The only thing that could be better was if he were on Cybertron with Nova Beam and holding her in his arms. Sometimes he lamented the fact that their relationship would probably take vorns to have even a rudimentary physical element, but he could be patient. Someday he was sure that he and Nova Beam would finally interface, and he sighed again dreamily at the prospect. When he thought of bonding with Nova Beam, his spark would hitch and his breath would stall!

His musings were interrupted when Gears barged into his room without even sending a comm signal or knocking!

"Hey, Gears!" Huffer snapped, "What have I told you about hackin' the locks on my door?"

"No time!" Gears said hurriedly, "You gotta get to the medbay!"

"What? What happened?" Huffer asked; caught up in his friend's frenzy.

"It's Brawn! He got hurt bad!" Gears explained, "Also, Optimus Prime says he wants to see you!"

Huffer followed Gears as he ran down the hall. The lavender truck was so worried about Brawn that it took him a minute to figure what Gears had said last…

"Wait! Optimus Prime wants to see me? Why?" Huffer asked when they were almost to the medbay.

"Why do you think?" Gears snapped irritably as they entered the room.

"Oh, right...Clean up on aisle earth," Huffer quipped joylessly.

That was always the most predictable part of battle. It didn't matter where they fought the Decepticons, and it didn't matter whether or not Huffer fought or not, it was a given that he would get stuck repairing whatever damage the 'Cons caused during the fight. He would have different mechs helping him, but he was almost always stuck fixing primitive structures with shoddy earth materials. Whoever thought ground-up rocks made for a good foundation was glitched!

Brawn was lying on his back on a medical berth; his left arm hooked up to a cube of energon. He was conscious, but he looked like he'd been forced through a shredder! Gears grew quiet as he stood by the armored minibot's berth, and Huffer once again cursed the Decepticons that so mercilessly did this to his friend!

"Hey guys…" Brawn tried to sound cheerful, but his voice was too weak, "So Huffer, you get stuck with clean-up duty again?"

"Probably," Huffer waved it off, "What happened Brawn? Who did this to you?"

"Skywarp," Brawn spat as if the name actually tasted awful, "We were doin' great against the Decepticon forces...We had evacuated the humans from the burning oil refinery. It was...rainin'. Hard to see. Anyway, I was bashin' in Rumble's face and had the upper hand...but then that glitch headed Skywarp teleported in...and grabbed me. He had these weird claw things attached to his knuckles. Never seen anything like 'em before! I'll tell you, it hurt. I mean it _really_ hurt! I fought him off as best as I could, but it wasn't enough. I woke up here. Don't remember how I got here. Sorry…"

Brawn offlined after that, and Huffer quickly checked the monitors to make sure his systems were still online. They were. Both minibots exhaled a sigh of relief when they knew Brawn wasn't dead.

"I hate those Seekers!" Huffer declared bitterly, "They only live to cause pain and torment to everyone around them! I ain't never met one that didn't take sick pleasure from rippin' apart some poor Autobot's circuits! I wish there was somethin' more we could do!"

"Well, there is one thing you can do," Gears said with a shrug, "You can report to Optimus Prime for clean-up duty."

Huffer groaned long-sufferingly but didn't protest. He knew that was the most crucial contribution he could provide. Oh well, at least he would get to build stuff. Even if it was inferior stuff thanks to the flimsy earth materials. He only hoped someday the war would end and he could have a life that didn't involve scrappy organic planets and worrying whether those he cared about were going to be dead the next day due to some slagging Decepticon.

* * *

Huffer situated the beams for the bridge they were reconstructing. It wasn't a large bridge, just something to get the humans from the oil refinery (which was situated on a small island off the coast) to the mainland, but it still felt like this job was taking forever!

Huffer was teamed up with Ironhide and Windcharger. Windcharger's magnetic powers were invaluable for keeping their larger beams steady, and Ironhide had been working diligently since they got there.

Ironhide was a mech that Huffer respected. Unlike most of the command chain, Ironhide wasn't afraid to get his hands dirty and didn't complain when he was forced to work with those beneath his rank. That was what Huffer hated about mechs like Sunstreaker and Prowl. They acted like they were too good for everyone else. Not Ironhide! He knew the importance of the working mech.

"Hey Windcharger, get me that power drill would ya?" Ironhide asked as he pointed to the Cybertronian sized drill.

"Sure thing, Ironhide! Windcharger replied chipperly.

Windcharger was just happy to be out of the ship, Huffer could tell. The poor minibot was barely let out at all. It didn't make a lot of sense though. Windcharger might've just been a grey and red car-former, but he had a great sigma ability, and was always willing to lend a servo whenever anyone needed him.

Huffer laid the cement for the bike path on the bridge as he allowed his thoughts to wander. The old destroyed bridge didn't have a bike path, but Huffer thought the humans might appreciate it, and thought a layered bridge was more attractive than a single straight line.

He thought about Windcharger and the reluctance of the higher-ups to fully utilize his abilities, and that was when Huffer remembered Windcharger's _other_ ability. When they used to fight back on Cybertron Windcharger had been able to fly despite being a car-former. He was similar to Tracks in that way, except Windcharger couldn't go as far or as fast. That all changed during a skirmish when Windcharger's flight module was ripped out of him and destroyed by Blitzwing! The part was irreplaceable, and Windcharger never flew again.

Maybe that was it. Huffer wondered if maybe the others were trying to spare Windcharger's feelings by cutting him some slack. Of course, that strategy did more harm than good. Windcharger liked being helpful, and hated it when he wasn't called on to do anything for weeks or even months at a time!

Huffer continued his work diligently. His mouth was closed, but his mind was racing as he thought about the two individuals he was working with. Normally Huffer would complain about the heat or the lousy construction of the humans that built the previous bridge, but today he couldn't bring himself to do that. He just tried his best to distract his mind so he didn't have to think about Brawn suffering and coming close to dying. Huffer knew he'd probably never be able to get revenge on Skywarp for this, but that didn't stop him from fantasizing about all the horrible ways the Seeker could die. He hated those Decepticons, and especially the Seekers.

* * *

"You did what?" Tremor asked in a deceptively calm voice.

"I set up a user account with the Autobot version of Combichat," Nova Beam repeated happily; unaware that Tremor was furious with her.

"Nova Beam, we went over this after the Wordplay incident," Tremor reminded her in a strained but subdued voice, "You must not give Huffer more information than he gives you. You are a spy, and telling him everything so openly invites scrutiny. What if that Autobot we spared had been a personal friend or relative of Huffer? They were the same model, so it was very possible. Also, Combichat is encrypted for Autobot use only. If an Autobot finds out a member of the Tarn area Decepticons is using the site, then they will know you are a spy! They will hunt you down and execute you! Do you remember Iron Jewel?"

Nova Beam hung her head, and Tremor knew that her point had been made. Iron Jewel was a femme from the Kaon region that served as a Decepticon soldier's consort. She was executed by her husband's commanding officer after he found out she had sent a transmission to an Autobot. It was a personal call to a relative from the Autobot faction, but that didn't matter. She was killed by firing squad anyway, and over a thousand were invited to watch her death.

"I promise to be more careful about how much information I give," Nova Beam said quietly; feeling miserable and defeated.

"Good. Perhaps your mission can yet succeed," Tremor said with a regal and confident tone.

Tremor left the room then, and Nova Beam was alone with her thoughts. She knew she was walking a fine line between true love and treason. It wasn't as if she liked what the Autobots stood for. They would give resources that were the rightful property of Cybertron to inferior races! They would allow their own species to die to fuel mere organics! It was sacrilege!

Still, even with these convictions, there was Huffer. He ignited her spark and made her feel things she had only read about before. He understood that organics weren't more important than Cybertronians. All he wanted was to come home and forget he was ever associated with earth at all! If only the Decepticons had found him first, then maybe they could've been together without fear or doubt.

Nova Beam went to her computer and hoped against all hope for a message from Huffer. Perhaps they could set up a time to live chat together. That would be nice…

::Message from: Huffer,via,cyberdate,trn 1 joor ago. 5 creds to view message. Do you accept the charges? Y/N?::

He sent something! _He sent something_! Nova Beam clicked Y and read his message eagerly.

::Hey Nova Beam. I've just gotta tell you, I've had the worst day! Brawn was injured in battle against the Decepticons. Some slagging Seeker tore him to shreds! He's alive, but recovery will take a while. I managed to clear my head with some repair work, but I still feel angry! The worst part is there's nothing I can do about it! I hate Seekers! I don't know why the Decepticons have so many of them! It's like they multiply, or maybe they split apart like amoebas! LOL!

Anyway, I was thinking about that combichat,abt. You wanna schedule a message session for 5 joors from now? It'll give me time to recharge first ;)

Yours truly, Huffer::

Nova Beam just stared at the message for a few minutes. How could his mood seem to change so quickly? One sentence he declares damnation on all Seekers, and the next he's happily discussing when they'll _chat_? She didn't know if she wanted to cry or break something! One Seeker hurts his friend and suddenly he hates _all_ Seekers? For the first time since they started their relationship, Nova Beam actually wanted to hurt him!

Still, she knew this anger wasn't actually solving anything. Huffer's prejudice wasn't going to go away unless she did something to help it along. She thought about telling him she was a Seeker, but then she remembered her promise to Tremor. Don't give him information that could be used against her.

She shut off her computer, threw herself onto her berth, and screamed into her hands so no one else would hear! She was helpless! She was a Seeker and she couldn't even tell him! She was a Decepticon, he was an Autobot, and their stupid factions were keeping them apart!


	7. Chapter 7

_Authors' Notes: Um, I might have to change the rating of this fic from K+ to T because of this chapter. Fair warning, there's a bit of violent content. You'd think a romance would get that rating for sexiness, but that's not really my style :)_

* * *

Chapter 7

Huffer had been more despondent than usual. Gears and Powerglide had noticed that Huffer seemed more than just homesick, and actually downright depressed! They were used to him complaining all the time, but lately he didn't say much of anything! A quiet Huffer was a depressed Huffer.

Last time they refueled together in the rec room Huffer just stared at his cube; barely even sipping at the contents and sighing every now and then. It was as if just being alive was taking too much effort and energy!

Nobody knew what was going on, and surprisingly few Autobots even noticed, but it was bothering those that did. Bumblebee tried to cheer Huffer up by inviting him to a baseball game he was going to with Spike and Carly, but Huffer refused to leave his room that night. To be fair though, he always preferred Cybertronian sports to earth games any day.

No one knew what had gotten into Huffer, and he wasn't willing to tell them. He felt that if he said it out loud that would make everything true. It was a stupid thought, he knew, but that was just how he felt.

His depression had come from two months of not hearing from Nova Beam. It wasn't like she was out of sensor range or had broken up with him. She was just... _gone_. He feared that she might've been killed in battle. He also worried that she might've been captured! Decepticons were notoriously sadistic with their prisoners, and Nova Beam was a femme. There was no telling what they could be doing to her!

It had started as just a couple days without an email. Then he tried her on Combichat, but he never got a hold of her. He had actually wasted 35 creds waiting for her to log on! He sent two more messages, but he never received a reply. It was as if she had disappeared from the face of Cybertron!

Every since the online silence, Huffer had been inconsolable. Of course, it wasn't as if his friends even knew what they were trying to console him for. No one knew Nova Beam had stopped emailing him, and in fact Gears was the only one who knew about Nova Beam at all!

On this evening Huffer sat alone in his room. He had long ago given up logging onto his terminal right away, and just sat on his berth staring at the wall. He might check for an email eventually, but it was more out of habit than actually expecting anything to appear. He guessed that was one thing about living on earth that was good. The casualties were ridiculously low. On Cybertron however...A friend could be there one day and gone the next.

* * *

Tremor, Nova Beam, and Laugh Riot strode down the streets of Tarn with grace and purpose. Tremor was in the middle of the formation, Nova Beam on her right, and Laugh Riot on her left. It didn't matter if they were flying or walking, their formation never changed. Nova Beam was the right trinemate. It was as much a fact of life as her wings and her spark.

The crowd moved around them and almost seemed to crowd the Seeker femmes. Some in the crowd were eager to get to their destination, and others were walking with the same solemn dignity as the trine, but they were all heading to the same location: an Autobot execution.

The scout had been captured by a neighboring Decepticon unit, but since the Autobot was from Tarn he would be killed before an audience in his home city. This was to send a message to all Autobots that their rebellion would not be tolerated.

Tremor's optics scanned the crowd and she let out a bored breath of air. Normally the Seekers would fly to wherever they were going, but they were in no hurry to get to where they were going today. Despite being efficient killers, none of the three enjoyed watching a chained animal die. That was all this was. A glorified slaughter of captured prey. It was disgusting.

"After the execution can we go to that bar with the simulation chamber?" Laugh Riot asked like a child asking to go to the toy store, "I hear you can rent a program that lets you date any celebrity you want!"

"You are so easily entertained," Tremor sighed wearily, "I suppose we could stop and get some high grade. We'll probably need it after our unit cleans up the energon they spill tonight."

"I wonder if they have Skywarp programmed there," Laugh Riot said to no one in particular, "He's the dreamiest!"

"You like _Skywarp_?" Nova Beam giggled with incredulity.

"Sure, he's clearly the most attractive of the elite trine," Laugh Riot said as if it were an obvious fact, "Plus he's black and purple. Those are my favorite colors!"

"Gee, I wonder why…" Nova Beam deadpanned as she looked over Laugh Riot's reddish purple and black frame, "I don't know why you bother. The Elite Trine all look the same. They're Seekers just like we are. They all three look like Starscream."

It was a little known fact that when three Seekers trined the two lower ranked Seekers would change their appearance to reflect that of their leader. It was a sign of great respect and also a physical reminder to others of the intense bond they shared. That was why Nova Beam and Laugh Riot had helmets that resembled the human bob 'do hairstyle; because Tremor had been built that way.

"So what if they do?" Laugh Riot asked defensively, "Starscream has a handsome design. I mean, if you could interface with any celebrity you wanted, who would it be?"

"I don't care about that stuff," Nova Beam said unconvincingly, "Love and attraction are just a big waste of time."

Laugh Riot snorted derisively, but didn't say anything else about the subject. She could tell that Nova Beam hadn't been quite right for some time now, but she didn't know why. If Tremor could feel Nova Beam's distress as strongly through the bond as Laugh Riot did, she didn't say anything.

Of course, they didn't know about Huffer. She never found it within herself to forgive him for what he said about Seekers. At times she wondered if she was being petty, but how could he possibly justify such a sweeping prejudice with no basis in logic? Nova Beam had to admit to her own spark though that she loved him. If she didn't love him then it wouldn't hurt so badly. He had sent a couple more emails since that last one, but she never opened them. If she never opened them, then Huffer wouldn't have to pay the 10 credits. It was a kindness to him, or at least that was what she told herself.

The femme trine made it to the round central street that was the heart of Tarn. There were many mechs and femmes there to see the execution. It would probably be a long and drawn out process since they hadn't had an actual Autobot there in many vorns. Nova Beam almost pitied whichever condemned spark managed to find its way to this desperate place.

A stage had been erected with a wide screen monitor to project the executioner and his victim. Many cried out for energon to be spilled, and others stood stock still to avoid turning away in sorrow and disgust. Attendance to this ritual was mandatory, and therefore this meant there were many who did not actually want to be there. They simply had no choice but to watch a mech's life end.

An enforcer called for quiet, and the crowd hushed immediately. A large dusty blue mech with spikes along his arms and legs lumbered onto the stage. He carried a set of weapons in a transparent case. He was quickly followed by a group of four other Decepticons as they pulled the prisoner along; the Autobot struggling all the way. Some in the crowd laughed at his pathetic attempt, but Tremor's face remained impassive. Tremor's emotional strength was transmitted through the bond to her sisters, and Nova Beam tried to concentrate on that feeling.

"That's a pretty small Autobot," Laugh Riot whispered to Nova Beam, "Is this even worth dragging us all out in the cold night air for?"

Nova Beam wasn't listening to Laugh Riot, however. Her eyes were transfixed on the screen above the stage, and the close-up shot of the condemned Autobot. She _knew_ that face! It was _Wordplay_! He was the mech that had saved Laugh Riot's life!

"Citizens of Tarn!" The spiky mech boomed as he faced the crowd, "We have before you a traitor to Lord Megatron and the Decepticon Empire!"

Boos and hisses could be heard from the crowd, but Wordplay's face was defiant even in the face of a mob of his enemies! Nova Beam remembered the scared young mech whimpering into his comm link all those decacycles ago, and was impressed by how quickly he had adapted to his role in life. Still, his features reminded her of Huffer even now, and it was more than a little disconcerting.

"The Autobot has denied the charges of treason, but we are not fooled by his profession of innocence! The Autobot will be executed by spark removal!" The spiky mech informed the crowd of spectators, "Prisoner! Do you have any final words before you go down to The Pit where you belong?"

Wordplay looked up at the sky, and then looked out at the crowd. Nova Beam knew she was too far back for him to see her, but it really almost looked like he was looking at her as he spoke.

"You can take my spark," Wordplay said slowly, "But you never took my freedom. You may be the ones who have chained me down, but I am the one that is free! Megatron doesn't deserve your wings, your wheels, or your sparks! We all deserve better! I may die, but if even one of you is listening...Freedom is the right of all sentient beings and that _includes_ _you_!"

"Enough!" Spiky mech roared.

With that Wordplay was forced onto his knees and leaned back so his chest was exposed. Spiky mech pulled out a vibroblade, and Nova Beam turned away so she wouldn't see the moment of impact! She could still hear it though: the grinding and crunch of metal being torn and ripped away! She could also hear the last screams of agony from Wordplay as his spark was ripped out of his chest and crushed before his eyes!

The crowd was pleased, but Nova Beam just felt sick. She always hated it when she saw someone she personally knew die in battle, but this was even worse! He was gutted like a broken down shuttle! Wordplay was a kind mech, a scientist, and he didn't deserve that! Nova Beam was so angry and hurt, and that was when it hit her...So was Huffer! This was what _he_ felt when his friend was nearly killed, and he had no other place to direct his anger except at anything related to the soldier that hurt his friend!

That night as she helped her unit wipe away the uncharged energon from the street Nova Beam thought about what she should do next. Her processor was confused, but her spark only wanted one thing.

It wanted Huffer back.

* * *

::Message from: NovaBeam,via,cyberdate,trn 3 cycles ago. 5 creds to view message. Do you accept the charges? Y/N?::

Huffer had to do a double take as he saw the text on the screen. He hadn't checked his messages in days knowing he wouldn't get anything, but today he checked it and there it was! Nova Beam was alive! She was alive and had sent him a message! He was confused as to what took her so long, but so relieved to receive the email he didn't dare question it!

Y

::Hi Huffer.

I know I've been away for a while. A lot of things were bugging me, and I didn't know how to express them to you. I still don't, but I want you to know I'm sorry I ignored you. I hope your friend survived. Death is slag, and I'm so sick of it all! Things are bad for the Autobots here in Tarn. If you check the news you might know about Wordplay. He was terminated. I only met him once, but I thought he seemed nice. I'm so glad you're not on Cybertron! I know how much you want to be here, but it's not safe! I would worry every day if you were here. Pit, I worry about you now because I know Megatron and his elite forces are there with you. Please just be safe! I'm sorry I was away for so long! Don't die, Huffer! I promise I won't leave you again. Just be safe! BTW, when you get this message, if you forgive me, then let me know when we can get on combichat,abt together. I love you :3

Nova Beam::


	8. Chapter 8

_Author's Notes: Writing this fic got me to thinking, if I could date any transformer from the G1 series which one would it be? I think it would be Perceptor. He's smart, nice, and has a voice that would melt butter! I know, I'm boring! BTW, this was going to be two chapters originally, but there wasn't enough substance to either scene for that, so I melded them together into a more cohesive chapter. Hope you enjoy, and please don't forget to leave a review :)_

* * *

Chapter 8

::Connecting to combichat,abt...Please wait for your party to connect...Party connected. 4 creds per breem. Do you accept the charges?::

Y

HuffNstuff: Hey Nova Beam!

NBAviator: Hey, Huffer :3

HuffNstuff: This is so cool! We can chat in real time! Why didn't anybody think of this sooner?

NBAviator: I don't know. I guess with the war going on nobody has any time to invent cool stuff anymore. That's kind of sad actually :'(

HuffNstuff: Yeah, well we've got time now. So, what do you want to do?

NBAviator: Do?

HuffNstuff: Yeah, well, I mean...I know this is kind of awkward, but we've been dating for almost an entire solar cycle and...You're free to say no, I don't wanna pressure you or anything, but...wanna role play?

NBAviator: LOL! You are such a freak!

HuffNstuff: Sorry…

NBAviator: Don't be ;)

HuffNstuff: Wait, so you're saying it's okay?

NBAviator: Sure. I mean, it is kind of weird, but it's not like we can bond yet anyway. I mean, I know talking about bonding is a bit sudden, but maybe after the war...I'll shut up now.

HuffNstuff: You know, there's an interesting custom here on earth. When two humans commit to each other to bond, the one who initiates it gives a piece of jewelry to their bonded to signify their eternal love. Kinda ironic that most human marriages don't last as long as our relationship has! Go figure, huh?

NBAviator: That's beautiful...I've been thinking about getting a piece of swirl jewelry welded to the back of my helm. Do you think gold or silver looks best on a white helm?

HuffNstuff: How should I know? Do I look like I wear that stuff?

NBAviator: Not helpful!

HuffNstuff: Well, if I had to guess, I'd say gold, because silver would probably be near invisible on white.

NBAviator: Gold it is then! I'll send you a pic when it's done :3

HuffNstuff: Great! So, um...About our game…

NBAviator: You pick the theme. I don't have much of an imagination…

* * *

Sideswipe had everything he needed for his latest prank! Sunstreaker didn't want to help him this time, but it was his lost. His twin was such a killjoy sometimes…

Sideswipe's prank was simple, but effective. He bought as much pink paint from the hardware store as he could find, and he was going to sneak into some poor sap's room to paint their walls while they were gone! It was too perfect! It wasn't even a tasteful pink; it was hot pink! Even Elita One would think it was too much!

Sideswipe looked over the duty roster carefully. He would need to find someone that wasn't in their quarters right now. Prowl...Pit no! He didn't want to get floor scrubbing duty for the rest of eternity! Hm...Bumblebee? No, he was too nice. Sideswipe would just feel guilty for ruining his room. Jazz? What, and wake up in a ditch somewhere? No thank you!

Ah, Huffer! Perfect...

Sideswipe snuck around the halls of the Ark and hid behind panels and corridors to keep anyone from seeing him. He had the paint in subspace, and a nice long paint roller as well. That sourpuss Huffer had just started his patrol shift, so he wouldn't be back for 2 joors! By the time he returned to his room it would be covered in the gaudiest pink paint imaginable! Sideswipe wondered if he should've bought some yellow paint so he could write a crude message on the wall…

He checked to see if the door to Huffer's room was locked...It wasn't! Success! He backed into the room so he could watch the hall, and tiptoed carefully inside. The red Lamborghini twin was ready to start on his latest nefarious work, but before he could turn around and see the room he heard Huffer mutter "I've got you now, you sneak!"

Sideswipe froze! He wasn't expecting Huffer to still be here! Huffer was never late for duty! Also, it sounded as if Huffer knew about the prank! How was that possible? The only mech Sideswipe told was Sunstreaker!

"Now you're gonna get it!" Huffer said in a voice that sounded like a cat cornering a mouse.

Sideswipe tried to not panic. After all, this was Huffer! He could take Huffer on in a fight! He was just a stupid minibot! At least, that's what Sideswipe tried to tell himself. Of course, he didn't expect…

"This looks like a job for tickle torture!"

" _WHAT_?" Sideswipe suddenly yelled as he turned around to face Huffer.

Just as Sideswipe was wondering what kind of pervert Huffer really was, he saw that the minibot was sitting at his computer staring at the screen. Huffer swiftly turned around when he heard Sideswipe yell, and a typical look of annoyance crossed the little dump truck's face.

"Sideswipe? What are you doin' in my room?" Huffer asked accusingly.

"Me? What are _you_ doing?" Sideswipe asked; a smile slowly creeping along his face as he saw the Combichat box, "NBAviator? Who's that? Hey, some of this stuff is pretty steamy! You got yourself a playmate? I never would've pegged you for the type."

"Don't talk about her like that!" Huffer fumed, "That happens to be my steady girlfriend Nova Beam! She and I have been together for almost one earth year!"

"Yeah, I've had flings that lasted longer than that," Sideswipe replied; unimpressed, "Online femmes are usually pretty loose. Heck, I've dated three at once on Courtitron, and they all knew about each other. Yeah, I remember this one femme named Cylinder! Now she knew how to make a mech feel special!"

"You're disgustin'!" Huffer groused as he typed in the logout command on Combichat so he wouldn't have to pay a per-breem charge just to talk to Sideswipe, "Besides, Nova Beam is faithful to me! Just today we were talkin' about bondin' after the war!"

"Yeah?" Sideswipe asked in muted curiosity, "So, does she know what you look like?"

"Yeah, and she thinks I'm cute!" Huffer bragged; a surprising activity for him.

"She does, huh?" Sideswipe asked, and Huffer nodded, "So Huffer, how ugly is she?"

He thought that would make Huffer mad, but instead the minibot turned away from him and grabbed something from his desk. When he turned back to the red warrior, the minibot wore a smug smirk on his face; an expression that didn't seem to belong on that face. He pushed an item in Sideswipe's hands, and Sideswipe could see it was a solidified picture of a white femme with blue optics.

"Read 'em and weep, pretty bot! She's gorgeous!" Huffer declared as he beamed over the picture of his sweetheart.

"Yeah...I guess she's cute in a girl next door kind of way," Sideswipe begrudgingly admitted, "Still, this is just a headshot. What if her body is gross or disfigured or something? You can't even tell what frame type she is from this!"

"She's a flier," Huffer replied casually, "For some reason though she also likes to surf. I told her about the water on this planet and she was so jealous! I can't believe there's anythin' here to be jealous of! She's nuts!"

"So...Can I see your chat transcript?" Sideswipe asked hopefully.

"No way! Forget it, you creep! Get outta here!" Huffer shouted as he physically pushed Sideswipe out of his room.

Sideswipe was dazed as he was shoved outside and Huffer locked the door behind him. He wasn't sure how Huffer was even strong enough to push him aside, and he couldn't help but laugh at how defensive Huffer was of his new femme. Then again, Sideswipe figured that Huffer probably just didn't have a lot of experience with femmes. He'd learn soon enough, Sideswipe thought. He'd learn that femmes online can't be trusted.

* * *

It was a few weeks later that Huffer found himself in the rec room drinking energon with the other minibots that were off duty. Bumblebee had also brought his human friends Spike and Carly along, but Huffer was content to ignore them.

"So the sewer actually caved in with you still inside?" Cliffjumper asked Seaspray.

"Yes," Seaspray replied in that garbled voice of his, "It was so embarrassing! The nice part though was that Alana cleaned me off in the ocean. Sometimes I don't know what I would do without her."

"I still don't know why you'd date an organic femme," Gears said grumpily, "They're so fragile, and temporary. Seriously, you could marry her, spend the rest of her life with her, and it would still be little more than a three day weekend to you!"

Seaspray glared at Gears for that one. He cared for Alana with all his spark, and didn't appreciate the red and blue truck badmouthing his lover.

"It's okay Seaspray, I get it," Powerglide said consolingly, "It's nice to try something exotic every now and then. Plus, bonding to an alien femme doesn't require as much commitment. With a Cybertronian femme your sparks have to sync, but if there's no spark, then there's no one probing you for your feelings or your intentions. It's much easier that way."

"Alana and I have been together for 687 days," Seaspray said with a melancholy tone to his voice, "On her planet 702 days is a solar cycle. It'll only be an orn or so before it's our anniversary, and I don't know what to get her."

"Get her?" Huffer asked; his curiosity peaked, "You mean like a present?"

"Yes, on her planet the anniversary of when you meet your beloved is special. She will expect a gift that represents what we mean to each other, but I can't think of anything," Seaspray explained sorrowfully.

"I know what you mean," Carly interjected, "Anniversaries are special here, too. Some people only celebrate wedding anniversaries, but others will celebrate things like their first kiss, their first date, or even when they met each other like Alana's people do."

"Say, how long is a solar cycle here?" Huffer asked, "I forgot the exact day."

"365 days," Bumblebee supplied helpfully.

 _Uh-oh…_ Huffer thought ruefully. _That's tomorrow! Mine and Nova Beam's anniversary is_ tomorrow _, and I almost forgot! Wait, what am I worried about? She's not on earth, and it's not like I could get her anythin' anyhow. Then again, I don't want to seem like I don't care...Aw mech, what should I do?_

* * *

That night Huffer spoke with Gears about his problem. Gears probably wasn't the best one to go to for romantic advice, but he was the only mech Huffer trusted with his personal information. The only other one who knew about Nova Beam was Sideswipe, and the less Huffer thought about _that_ the better.

Gears listened as Huffer explained his problem. Huffer wanted to do something special for his and Nova Beam's earth-year anniversary, but he didn't know what he could do since they only communicated through emails and online chat.

"Just write her a poem," Gears shrugged after Huffer was finished speaking, "She'll love it. Femmes like sappy junk like that."

"A poem?" Huffer repeated nervously, "I've never done anythin' like that before! It's stupid!"

"Of course it's stupid, but this isn't for you!" Gears reminded him, "Femmes aren't like us. They like pretty but pointless words. Heck, it was a femme who invented the swirl band! Seriously, who thought _that_ was necessary?"

"I guess…" Huffer replied; unconvinced, "So what should I write?"

"I don't know!" Gears snapped, "Just think about stuff that makes you think of her, and then write it down."

"Okay...How about this? Nova Beam, you are so clean, you're cooler than Omega Supreme. I think about, the fun we've had, and I doubt, that Tarn is that bad. I often wonder, how you would smell, and just how smooth is your outer shell? When I think about, Cybertron, and the scrapped corpses that are there on-"

"Stop!" Gears suddenly shouted, "That's terrible! You sound like a psychotic five vorn old! Here, let me!"

Gears then pushed Huffer out of the way and sat down at Huffer's computer. He typed for a few minutes, and then stood back so Huffer could read his work.

 _Ivory Femme, how comely your stance._

 _When you walk by, your optics entrance._

 _Your sire is the water, your carrier the air._

 _Your elegance is beyond all compare._

 _Your fingers grace my frame, and I freeze._

 _You hold my spark with the greatest of ease._

 _I treasure you, like a cybertonium gem._

 _My truest love, my Ivory Femme._

Huffer looked at what was on the screen, and couldn't believe his optics! Gears wrote this? _Gears_? The guy who picked his audio sensors with a stick that one time? This was unbelievable!

"How did you come up with that so fast?" Huffer asked suspiciously.

"Simple, I used to be a Cybertronian language teacher at a primary school," Gears shrugged as if it were nothing, "Also, poetry was how I won my bondmate."

" _You_ have a bondmate?" Huffer asked incredulously.

"I did, once…" Gears's voice took on a faraway quality as he spoke, "Her name was Intel. She was the school's record keeper, and before that she was a librarian. She wasn't a looker, but she made the best oil cakes you've ever tasted! She also had an infectious laugh. I still remember renting the stupidest movies I could find just 'cause she would laugh at them. I hated the movies, but I liked sitting next to her watching them after a long day…"

Gears sighed, and Huffer, knowing what Cybertron was now, could just guess what Gears was going to say next. That didn't stop Gears from saying it, though.

"We lived in a small town called Gilgahex. We thought the Decepticons would never come for us because there was nothing there they could want. Turns out, we were wrong. Megatron only sent in a small barrage, but we still didn't have a chance. Some grunt transformed in front of our house and ripped the roof right off! We hid, but he found us anyway. I thought we could reason with him, so I offered to…"

"What?" Huffer asked; his tone subdued and nonjudgmental.

"...I offered to join the 'Cons if he would spare Intel. Suffice to say, that didn't work. Megatron didn't consider femmes useful soldiers, so most of them were killed. That's why I joined the Autobots. Back then I thought if we stayed neutral and stayed out of the way that everything would be okay, but it wasn't. All I've got left of her is a few photos in my memory files and a recipe for energon pudding."

Gears then lifted back the armor from his right forearm and displayed a picture of him and his bondmate standing in the primary school library. There was a banner in the background congratulating another teacher for winning a local award. Gears was actually smiling, and Intel was standing beside him; pale blue with white pinstripes and somehow even shorter than Gears. She was broad, and looked like she transformed into a snow plow. In short, she was plain.

"Why didn't you ever tell me this before?" Huffer asked; his voice barely above a whisper.

"Because it don't change nothing," Gears said simply, "We're still stuck in a slagging war, and we've still gotta stick together to survive it. I might never find another femme or nothing, but I'm not sorry I bonded to Intel. She was my best friend, and a piece of me died with her. If Nova Beam means that much to you, then be careful. It'll just be harder on you if she dies first."

Huffer looked at his longtime friend, and then he looked back at the poem on the screen. He was definitely going to send this to Nova Beam. Hopefully he would get better at poetry by year two, because he didn't want to have to come back to Gears with this. It would be too painful, and Gears had enough problems (at least according to him).

"Hey Gears, I just thought of somethin'..." Huffer said with a ghost of a smile on his face plate, "If you were a language teacher, then why do you say things like _don't change nothin_ '? That's bad grammar!"

Gears threw a data pad at Huffer, which the lavender and orange minibot quickly ducked and avoided. The two were best friends, but that didn't stop them from fighting to pass the time between shifts. Letting off steam also helped them to forget the things left behind, whether it be Huffer's buildings or Gears's bondmate.


	9. Chapter 9

_Author's Notes: I've had this chapter idea for a while, but haven't had a lot of time to work on it, so that's why it took me a while to post it. I just want to say thank you to everyone who has followed, favorited, and reviewed this story so far! I love it!_

* * *

Chapter 9

::Message from: NovaBeam,via,cyberdate,trn 40 breems ago. 6 creds to view message. Do you accept the charges? Y/N?::

Y

::Hi Huffer! I'm sending the pic of my new swirl band! I went with a double swirl in gold attached to curved gold piping. It's on the back of my helm! What do you think?::

* * *

::Message from: Huffer,via,cyberdate,trn 18 astro seconds ago. 6 creds to view message. Do you accept the charges? Y/N?::

Y

::Hey Nova Beam. First of all, your swirly is very pretty. I just hope this don't mean I've got competition on Cybertron! LOL! Also, I can't believe they raised the message fee a cred! This is skyway robbery! Anyway, I hope you're doing well on Cybertron. I also wish I could've been there for our solar cycle anniversary. I've been thinking a lot about life and death, and I just don't know what I'd do if something happened to you and I never got a chance to see you. Anyway, take care of yourself. You're probably beating the mechs off with a stick ;)

Yours truly, Huffer::

* * *

Nova Beam read the message with a dreamy look in her scarlet optics. They actually had a solar anniversary where Huffer was stationed! She had loved the poem so much that she went to a local shop and had it printed! _Ivory femme_...She never really thought of herself that way. For one thing she was white, not ivory. More importantly though, she never thought of herself as beautiful or even noticeable before. Huffer didn't look at her as just another identical tin soldier that happened to be a femme. He actually made her _feel_ like a femme!

Nova Beam touched the computer screen, as if Huffer could actually feel her servo from the other side of the galaxy, and reluctantly logged off. She turned from her chair to get up, but then found herself face to face with Laugh Riot!

" _Ah_!" Nova Beam shrieked as she backed away from her nosy sister, "What are you _doing_?"

"I'm reading your email," Laugh Riot replied shamelessly, "Who's Huffer?"

"Go away!" Nova Beam snapped; embarrassed to be caught in such an intimate moment.

"Oh come on, it's not like he wrote anything dirty!" Laugh Riot seemed to know just what Nova Beam's thoughts were, "I've gotta say though, I can't believe you've managed to hide the fact that you've got a boyfriend this long! By the way, how long is a solar cycle on his planet?"

"Um...365 days, I think," Nova Beam replied nervously; seriously not wanting to have this conversation with her gossipy trinemate.

"What? _Seriously_? You've had a mech for 26 orns and you didn't even tell me?" Laugh Riot asked in shock, "Does Tremor know about this?"

"Well…" Nova Beam let her lack of a response hang in the air.

"Oh, Holy Pit!" Laugh Riot cursed incredulously, "You would tell that overbearing glitch before you would tell me? I thought we were closer than that!"

"Oh Laugh Riot, I'm so sorry!" Nova Beam exclaimed apologetically, "I didn't mean to hurt you, and if it makes you feel any better I didn't want to tell Tremor! Truth is, this whole thing is very personal, and I didn't want anyone else to know…"

"So basically...this is blackmail material for the next time I need a favor?" Laugh Riot asked mischievously.

"Yeah, I guess," Nova Beam said glumly, though she was actually smiling at Laugh Riot, "I'm kind of glad you know though. I've wanted someone to talk about this with, and you know Tremor isn't the kind of femme you talk about things with."

"Yeah, she treats everything like homework," Laugh Riot sympathized, "So tell me, is he cute?"

"Yes," Nova Beam said bashfully as she looked down at her feet to avoid looking at Laugh Riot, "He's short, but I like short mechs."

"Not my type but I won't judge," Laugh Riot said quickly, "So, is he rich?"

"I don't really know," Nova Beam shrugged, "He had live-messaging money."

"Whoa! You got him to pick up the tab for that?" Laugh Riot asked excitedly.

"We've only done it once," Nova Beam giggled, "You know that sort of thing is expensive! Actually, he cut me off after one of his fellow soldiers barged into his room and tried to paint it pink!"

"Pink? Orange would've more offensive!" Laugh Riot remarked, "Yeah, Autobot orange. You know, I should do that to Freefall! He'll be so glitched!"

Nova Beam wasn't about to tell Laugh Riot that Huffer's room was probably already orange. She had learned her lesson from Tremor's constant scolding. Laugh Riot could never know that Huffer was an Autobot!

"So, have you ever called him?" Laugh Riot asked, "I know long range calls are expensive, but it might be interesting to know what the guy sounds like."

"I can't," Nova Beam lamented, "I, um, I mean he can only use audio-only signals. He's in a top secret facility, and he's not allowed to project a visual signal, so I'd need an audio only transmitter!"

Nova Beam was never a good liar. The truth was if she projected a visual scan then he would know she was a Decepticon. Audio only transmitters had been obsolete for decavorns, and finding one in good condition was rare.

"So you need an audio transmitter?" Laugh Riot asked casually, "I can hook you up."

Fortunately, Laugh Riot had never been one to question it when Nova Beam was lying. Nova Beam wondered if Laugh Riot really couldn't tell, or if she was just ignoring the obvious. Either way…

"Wait, you can find an audio-only transmitter? How?" Nova Beam asked; surprised to say the least.

"I know a guy," Laugh Riot shrugged.

Laugh Riot always seemed to know how to procure interesting items, currencies, and favors. Mechs fell for Laugh Riot's beautiful feminine features and easygoing nature. She was very good at getting what she wanted, and sometimes Nova Beam envied her sister for that ability. Over the years Laugh Riot's list of contacts has grown, and by now Nova Beam was surprised she hadn't considered asking for this sooner.

"How much will I owe you?" Nova Beam asked cautiously.

"Whatever the transmitter costs, and whatever you're willing to do to keep me from blabbing to the whole camp about your little pen pal," Laugh Riot said with a wide but devious grin, "Don't worry Sis, I won't cheat ya!"

Laugh Riot then winked one optic and then airily turned on her thruster to leave. She flew out the door like a sprite about to cause havoc to some poor unsuspecting village. Nova Beam sighed and wondered once again what she had gotten herself into.

"Oh well, at least this time she didn't ask about his faction," Nova Beam said to no one as she got a broom to sweep away the dust left by Laugh Riot's exit.

* * *

Several Autobots were gathered around Teletran 1 to watch an episode of their favorite soap opera: As The Kitchen Sinks. Tracks, Jazz, Bumblebee, Brawn, Gears, and Warpath were all sitting around the enormous computer console as Powerglide tried to find the right channel so they could watch their show.

The show came on, and everyone fell silent. This was the episode where Gilda was going to tell Channing that the baby wasn't his, but rather she had the baby with his best friend while he was in a coma and she had amnesia and now the baby has super powers.

Gilda pulled Channing closer, and they tenderly kissed as soft piano music played in the background. The scene started to go fuzzy around the edges as Gilda closed her eyes and softly brushed her head against Channing's six pack abs.

"Channing, my love, there is something I need to tell you!" Gilda said breathily.

The Autobots leaned in closer to see how Channing was going to react to the news, but then Teletran 1 cut off the broadcast and started beeping that someone was trying to call them!

"Aw, no!" A couple of them said in unison.

"That's it! Something better be dead or on fire!" Gears snapped irately as he got up from where he was standing.

"Hey, cool your jets, guys," Jazz said smoothly, "Someone might be in trouble. Could be Decepticons."

"Yeah, well if it is they'll pay for making me miss my show!" Brawn groused.

Jazz held out his hands to indicate everyone should hush up, and turned on Teletran 1 to see what all the fuss was about. He looked and saw it was audio only, so he figured it was probably a human distress signal.

"This is Jazz at Autobot Headquarters," Jazz intoned, "What's the emergency?"

"Oh, is this the command number?" A high pitched girlish voice asked; confused, "Oops. I thought this was a low priority signal. I was just wondering if I could speak to Huffer?"

"Huffer? Uh, who is this exactly?" Jazz asked.

"And do you know what time it is?" Gears added sorely, "I'm missing my soaps!"

"Um, I can't really help you find your soap," the voice continued, "But I was hoping to speak to Huffer if that's alright with you. I'm calling from Cybertron, and-"

"Cybertron?" Warpath asked incredulously, "What business does Huffer ZOWEE have on POW Cybertron?"

"Um...Do I have to tell you? It's kind of personal…" Nova Beam said sheepishly, "Also I just want to ask...How many Autobots are listening to this?"

"Seven," Gears replied before Jazz could, "Let me guess, you're Nova Beam."

Nova Beam gasped and wondered how much they knew about her! If they told the Autobots in Iacon about this then her unit was in deep slag! Oh, Tremor would have a field day with this one!

"Um...Yes, sir. My name is Nova Beam...Who am I speaking to please?" Nova Beam asked in an overly polite way; all too aware she was being sized up by the Autobots.

"Wait a minute!" Powerglide interjected, "Who is Nova Beam, and why does she want to talk to Huffer? Are you his sister or something?"

Nova Beam giggled nervously and tried to regain her composure as she spoke to the unseen Autobots.

"Um, well sir, Huffer and I are, um...Can I just talk to him please?" Nova Beam faltered. She was afraid to say they were in a relationship in case Huffer didn't want that information made public.

"I already comm'ed him, and he's on his way over," Jazz said casually, "From now on though, maybe let Huffer call you. Teletran 1 is under a strict access schedule. Just give him your code and everythin' should be just fine."

"Yes, sir," Nova Beam replied formally, "I'm also sorry your friend lost his soap, but I'm sure the wash racks will feel just as good without it."

Gears sputtered a few choice (if incoherent) words at that, and the other 'Bots laughed and laughed. Still, they were shocked that Huffer would get a call all the way from Cybertron on Teletran 1! He was just an enlisted mech! What could be so dire and important that was trusted to _Huffer_? Also, why was it a femme that was calling? Did he have a girlfriend? That would've seemed as strange to the Autobots as if the person on the other end of the screen promoted Huffer to Prime!

Huffer ran to the main room and was out of breath by the time he got there. He stood before the group and wondered what in the worlds they wanted with him.

 _This better not be about fixing the TV signal again!_ Huffer thought pessimistically.

"Huffer, there's someone callin' you from Cybertron," Jazz informed him, "Do you know a femme named Nova Beam?"

"Nova Beam?!" Huffer exclaimed in shock, "I haven't heard from you in three earth days! How did you get the number for Teletran 1? Hey, why is this audio only?"

"I don't have a system that displays visual," Nova Beam explained, "Also, as far as how I got the number for Teletran 1, well...It wasn't cheap. I just really wanted to call you. Besides, this is free. We can talk without worrying about the 4 creds per breem charge."

"Yeah, but privacy's an issue…" Huffer pointed out as he gave a withering look to the nosy Autobots that were sitting around listening to his conversation in lieu of their show.

This was the first time Nova Beam and Huffer had ever heard each other's voices. Huffer noted that Nova Beam's voice was squeaky to the point of sounding childish. Almost shrill. Clearly not her best feature, but he loved her too much to care about that by now. Nova Beam heard his voice and realized he sounded nasally and whiny. Not his best feature, but she loved him to much to take much notice of his voice by then.

"So Huffer, what's the weather like on earth?" Nova Beam asked.

"Wet!" Huffer complained, "Did you know that water falls from the sky here? It's not as bad as acid rain, but it happens a lot more often! You take one wrong step in the mud and you fall! You park in the mud and your tires get stuck! It's a mess!"

"Yeah, that sounds bad," Nova Beam commiserated, "I'm glad I don't have tires."

"No tires?" Brawn interjected, "You some kind of hovercraft?"

"A jet, actually," Nova Beam replied despite not knowing who asked the question, and then she realized she probably gave too much information away...again.

"Whoa! A fellow flier!" Powerglide exclaimed approvingly, "Nice to meet you! The name's Powerglide, and I'm the best flier in Autobot Headquarters!"

"Do you lugnuts mind?" Huffer snapped testily, "I'm tryin' to talk to my girlfriend!"

"Whoa! Huffer! I'm impressed!" Powerglide was undeterred by Huffer's sulking glare, "You got a jet femme to date you? Jets are some of the most high-maintenance femmes on Cybertron!"

"Hey, I can hear you!" Nova Beam squealed unhappily.

"Eh, ignore him. Powerglide ain't exactly the brightest mech in our unit," Huffer said dismissively; trying to ignore the Autobots eavesdropping on their conversation, "So, what's the weather like in Tarn?"

"Cold," Nova Beam replied matter-of-factly, "We're not allowed to keep the lights on anymore because there have been a lot of raids. It's weird, actually. There hadn't been a lot of activity in Tarn for vorns, and now suddenly there's a battle every other orn! Sometimes I wonder if my sisters and I will make it back after each battle."

"Don't talk like that, babe," Huffer said quietly, too quietly considering Huffer's usual attention-seeking tone, "I've lost a lot to this war, Nova Beam, but I don't think I could take it if I lost you. You and your sisters just stick together and watch each other's backs, and you'll be fine. When I'm here and watching Megatron and his flunkies destroy this planet and take energy back for his troops, I feel hopeless...but when I read your messages I can feel the life and hope on the other end. When I look at your picture and see your smiling face, I feel like there's an end to this war, and a future for both of us. You know what I mean?"

The other Autobots sat transfixed on Huffer and the waving audio lines of Teletran's screen. It wasn't like Huffer to talk like that. Sure, he was no stranger to venting his feelings to anyone who would listen, but he wasn't the type to try to encourage someone else. He also wasn't the type to be...well, for lack of a better word, mushy.

The only one who understood what Huffer was doing was Gears. He understood too well that Huffer was truly afraid. He had found what could likely be true love, and he was afraid of something coming along and taking it away from him. He was afraid of Decepticons coming in and killing Nova Beam. Gears of all mechs understood that fear.


	10. Chapter 10

_Author's Notes: Well, this is just a short chapter I had to get out of my system. There isn't really any romance in this chapter. This one is about a typical mission that Huffer has to go on for the Autobots. I hope you enjoy it, and I hope to read your reviews :)_

* * *

Chapter 10

It was too early in the morning! The sun had barely showed its blazing face, and already Huffer was in a convoy with 4 other Autobots heading toward a disaster zone! If he were a human he might've yawned, but as it stood he just grumbled.

Grapple and Hoist were leading the team and Huffer lagged behind with Windcharger and Brawn. There had been an earthquake in Northern California and the human authorities had called the Autobots and begged for assistance in searching for survivors. Huffer was secretly grateful that it wasn't Decepticon activity for a change, but outwardly all he showed was his contempt at getting up at the crack of dawn.

If _that_ wasn't bad enough, he got the wake-up call from Jazz! Now Jazz wasn't a bad mech, in fact he was even likable, but Huffer couldn't stand that fresh-as-a-daisy attitude when he was still trying to come out of recharge! He also wondered how Gears managed to get out of this assignment.

Of course if he really thought about it he knew why Gears wasn't with them. This was a rescue mission with tons of debris to be moved. Prime had sent Grapple and Hoist because they were a crane and a tow truck respectively (and Hoist had medical experience). He sent the three minibots because Windcharger had magnetic powers and Huffer and Brawn were among the strongest Autobots on the base. Huffer also guessed he'd get a trailer attached to his truck form and have to haul wreckage and injured humans. That blood humans had was nearly impossible to wash out of his interior, so he sure _hoped_ there was a trailer!

It wasn't hard to tell when they'd made it to the sight of the quake. The road was broken in several places, and it didn't take long before the Autobots had to transform into robot mode so they could even move! Once they walked into the town, they could see valiant human volunteers and emergency workers combing through the rubble in search of survivors. Huffer kind of wished Gears was with them, because he had infrared sensors and could've helped them find some of these people! Still, he figured if he and Gears both complained they'd probably get buried by the other Autobots, so it was for the best that Gears stayed home.

"Alright, team," Grapple intoned, "We want a clean sweep. Windcharger, you take the downtown district first and move as many steel beams and cars out of the way as you can. After that Brawn and Huffer will dig through the debris. If any survivors are found get them to Hoist as quickly as possible. Don't worry about moving corpses. We don't have time for that. I'll begin removing debris from the edge of town. The quake wasn't as strong there, so I should be able to handle it myself. If there are aftershocks just ride it out and you'll be fine. Now move out, everyone!"

Windcharger went out into the fray immediately, and Huffer and Brawn kept busy by shoving rocks and mortar out of the way where they were standing in hopes of finding someone. The chief of police came up to Grapple, and Huffer could hear him saying that the earthquake happened three days before and that there was little hope of finding anyone else. Huffer silently agreed, but didn't say anything.

It was grim work, and the dust settled all over their frames. Brawn looked at Huffer several times like he wanted to say something, but he never did. Huffer wanted to say something too, but he knew he had no pleasant words for this job. He also knew he needed to keep his trap shut if they were going to get through this without going crazy or giving up.

The scene reminded him too much of outposts he'd served on over the years. It also made him think of the war still raging on Cybertron. How many friends had he seen shot down and scrapped for parts by Decepticons? He thought, and realized there was a time he actually had a lot of friends. That was weird to think about. He also realized he actually had a lot of friends now. It hadn't hit him until then, but he had _friends_. He had Brawn, Gears, Cosmos, Bumblebee, Seaspray, Ironhide, Grapple, Hoist, Warpath, Windcharger, Cliffjumper, and even that showboat Powerglide!

Huffer sighed when he thought about how attached he was getting to these 'Bots. He didn't want to become attached. He had become attached to 'Bots before only to lose them to the Decepticons. Still, he had been on earth for years now, and even before that he had worked with these mechs on Cybertron. He couldn't help it...These 'Bots were his family.

After an hour or so the order was given for Brawn and Huffer to make their way into the heart of town. Huffer, thankfully, was attached to the dump truck trailer. Figures! He hated that thing! Everyone thought it was a part of him like Optimus Prime's trailer was for him. Oh well, better than getting human fluids on his seats, he guessed.

Brawn began with the buildings on Main Street, while Huffer went over to a downed overpass that had buried several cars. Brawn was in his element here. He was the type that loved to brag about his superior strength and show it off every chance he got. Huffer didn't understand that impulse. Strength wasn't that special. They were minibots. It was normal for minibots to be strong. Heck, _Huffer_ was actually as strong as Brawn was; he just didn't flaunt that fact.

Huffer lifted concrete slab after concrete slab in the hot sun. Morning turned to noon and then to afternoon. It got hotter and hotter as the day went along, and Huffer had not found a single human alive. He had seen many dead, but no living ones. It was starting to get depressing, but Huffer was used to depression. Resigned to the pointlessness, he carried on.

He began to think the human police chief was right. It was hopeless. There was no one there.

He saw a crosshatch of support beams overtop a road, and heaved an intake of air. That beam was heavy, so he knew either he or Brawn would have to lift it off the road. He turned to ask Brawn to do it, but of course the dull green and bronze minibot was already working on digging through another office building. Huffer squared his shoulders and resigned himself to the task.

He got a firm hold on the cross-section of what used to be a bridge and heaved with all his might to remove it from the road! He lifted it over his head and then pulled until it snapped apart! Huffer then threw it away and looked down to see his handiwork. He saw that while most everything in the road was crushed, there was a large sinkhole in the road where the support beam had fallen! He looked down into the hole and turned on his headlights to get a better view.

There was a car down there! It was a dark green Toyota, broken but not completely crushed. Huffer was sure there was nothing alive down there, but he also felt the compulsion to go down there and check. Cursing himself and his curiosity, he jumped down the sinkhole and headed toward the car.

Huffer bent down and looked into the car, and saw two humans inside; a female holding her injured sparkling. At first he was sure they were both dead, but then the woman tilted her head ever so slightly and groaned softly. She didn't even seem to notice him.

/Huffer to Hoist! Where are you?/ Huffer asked over the comm system.

/I'm scanning the suburbs right now. What do you need?/ Hoist inquired.

/Well, haul your skid plates over to my location!/ Huffer demanded, /We got humans here! Two of 'em from the looks of it, and they're both badly hurt. You gotta get over here now!/

/I'm on my way,/ Hoist replied immediately, /Stay with them until I arrive. Hoist out./

Huffer sighed. He figured it would take a few minutes for Hoist to arrive, so he sat down in the dirt of the sinkhole and watched the humans in case they did anything. It took a minute, but finally the woman seemed to come to enough of her senses to notice Huffer was there.

"Uh...You…" The woman grunted in a hoarse voice, "...Are you...Autobot?"

"Yeah, I am," Huffer replied, "Don't worry, we've got a medic comin'. He'll get you to a hospital. Everythin's gonna be alright. Just stay awake, and don't move. Your car crashed in a sinkhole, but oddly enough that might've saved your life."

"My son…?" The woman asked wearily.

"He's in your lap," Huffer said idiotically, unable to think of a better answer. In truth, the kid looked pretty bad off, and Huffer didn't know if he was alive or not.

"My…" The woman tried to say something more, but she was fading in and out of consciousness.

"Hey, don't do that!" Huffer exclaimed; trying not to panic, "So, um...What's your name?"

"No...Norma," the woman mumbled.

"Yeah? I'm Huffer," Huffer introduced himself, "Hey, what's your kid's name?"

"N...Nathan."

"That's a decent name," Huffer replied, not even knowing if that was true, "How old is Nathan?"

"Four…" The woman breathed drowsily.

Huffer nodded, but didn't have to answer. Hoist came down after that and ordered Huffer to transform. Huffer complied, and Hoist gently placed the entire car in Huffer's trailer. Hoist then lifted the trailer out of the sinkhole and onto the road. Together they traveled to the EMTs and helped the woman and her son out of the car and into the awaiting ambulance.

That was the only survivors Huffer found that day, but he was grateful to learn 3 days later that both Norma and Nathan survived. Despite how crummy working in the hot sun felt, he actually felt good about saving the lives of those humans. Sometimes the job title of Autobot wasn't so bad.


	11. Chapter 11

_Author's Notes: Wow, this chapter should have been finished much sooner than this! I've had a lot of other stories to work on lately, so this one has been neglected. Anyway, I hope you like this next chapter of Do You Accept The Charges, and please leave a review if you have the time :)_

* * *

Chapter 11

::Connecting to combichat,abt...Please wait for your party to connect...Party connected. 4 creds per breem. Do you accept the charges?::

Y

HuffNstuff: Hey, Nova Beam. Sorry I haven't been able to call lately. Seems like Teletran is always taken lately…

NBAviator: That's okay, sweetie :3

HuffNstuff: Say, I got a great idea for a role play we can do! I can be Optimus Prime and U can be Elita One. What do U think?"

NBAviator: Since when you say U instead of you? Oh, never mind :3 Can we fight sharkticons?

HuffNstuff: Sure thing...Elita ;)

NBAviator: Be careful Optimus! There could be anything in this dark deserted cave! You might want to turn on your headlights…

HuffNstuff: *turns on headlights* Oh no! It's a horde of sharkticons!

NBAviator: I'm coming, honey! *pulls laser sword out of subspace*

HuffNstuff: Behind you!

NBAviator: *Slices off sharkticon's head* Till all are one, slaggers!

HuffNstuff: I see their leader! Uh, oh...It's a giant sharkticon! *blasts laser rifle* BOOM! Headshot!

NBAviator: You did it, Optimus! We saved the planet from the sharkticons. Now for the fun part...Let's see where you hide the matrix!

HuffNstuff: *opens chassis* Let's just hope the troops don't find us for a while…

* * *

Nova Beam giggled quietly as she typed on her console. A part of her actually felt guilty about this. It wasn't just the more visceral aspect of their live chat, but the fact that she was pretending to be the queen of the Autobots. Somehow it seemed a little blasphemous to pretend to interface with Optimus Prime, but then again it was the forbidden aspect of this interplay that made her want to continue.

For a moment she allowed herself to pretend. For the moment she and Huffer were the two most powerful Autobots in the universe, and they were enjoying the spoils of conquest. For a moment she almost felt like she could touch him, and almost felt like she could feel his spark reaching out for hers. She then giggled as she imagined what Huffer would look like as a Prime. _Huffimus Prime_...That would be so cool! He certainly had the right body type for it, even if he was kind of small.

Her little game was interrupted when she heard footsteps approaching her quarters. Few people could sneak up on Nova Beam (Laugh Riot!) and she was ever alert when she was chatting with Huffer. She typed out a quick goodbye message and turned off her computer before the mech on the other end of the door entered.

The door opened without Nova Beam's authorization, and in strode Thorn Wind; their air commander! He was a seeker that was predominantly black with yellow markings. His helm had a three-horned design that somehow made him look very menacing, and the stern expression he wore only added to the visage of authority and terror. In the air he was a force to be reckoned with, but on the ground he was a pain in Nova Beam's transistors!

Nova Beam bolted out of her chair and quickly stood at attention! Whatever Thorn Wind wanted had to be important if he didn't even bother to comm them first. Nova Beam was alone in her quarters, which made her nervous. A half vorn before then Thorn Wind had propositioned Nova Beam, and she had turned him down. Her sisters thought she was crazy for turning down the most powerful mech in their unit, but she didn't give herself to just _any_ mech that deemed her worthy of their attention. The fact that she was even dating Huffer was an odd occurrence for the ever prudent Nova Beam.

"Ah, Nova Beam, it's you," Thorn Wind said disdainfully, "I was hoping to catch your trine commander in her quarters. Oh, well. I really don't have time for chit-chat anyway I suppose. Here, give her this data pad, and don't read it under any circumstances. Understand, soldier?"

"Yes, sir," Nova Beam replied apprehensively; already tired of his egotistical attitude.

"Good," Thorn Wind said as he turned on his heel and left.

Nova Beam was left alone as quickly as she had been intruded upon, and she didn't know what to make of the situation. Oh well, as long as Tremor had to deal with him and not her, then Nova Beam didn't really care what he wanted.

* * *

Huffer went to the board to find his assignment for the day. He always hated this part. He wished they could just keep the same assignments every day, but Prowl insisted they shake things up to keep the troops alert. Huffer grumbled under his breath as he looked for his name to see where he was going. He checked, and saw that for the next week he was going to be on that energy tower construction project. He looked to see who else was going to be on that project and only one other name came up.

"Perceptor?" Huffer asked himself skeptically, "Oh, great! College boy! Well, this is just gonna be a _real_ picnic!"

Later, in the rec room, Huffer was expressing his concerns to Brawn over working with Perceptor on a construction project. Brawn listened for a few minutes while he drank a small cube of high grade, and waited for Huffer to talk himself out. Finally, after Huffer finished, Brawn offered his advice.

"Don't worry about it," Brawn said casually, and Huffer glared at his flippant response, "Look, I get it. I used to think Perceptor was a wiener too, but as it turns out he's pretty brave once you get to know him. He'll watch your back out there if there's any Decepticons."

"I ain't worried about that," Huffer clarified, "I just don't wanna be alone with him. He talks about things in scientific terms that make him sound like he speaks a different language. What do I do if he asks me a question? Even his _questions_ sound smarter than my answers!"

"Eh, it won't be so bad," Brawn assured him, "Sure, Perceptor likes to talk, but he usually doesn't care if you reply or not. Kind of like Grapple. Perceptor's caught up in his own world most of the time. Just let him monologue for a while and keep busy on that tower. You'll do fine."

"Monologue...Yeesh, it sounds like I'm workin' with a super villain!" Huffer pointed out as he gestured with his half empty energon cube, "Just think of it, the diabolical Dr. Perceptor and his evil boring cannon! Boring cannon sold separately."

"Huffer, we fight Decepticons for a living," Brawn deadpanned, "I didn't think you'd be scared of a talking microscope."

"I'm not scared!" Huffer replied defensively, "I just don't wanna go."

Brawn chuckled as Huffer stewed. They downed the rest of their energon, and then Brawn left for patrol duty while Huffer went to pack up the stuff for his trip to the outer perimeter of their territory. He knew this was going to be a disaster. Perceptor would probably be the supervisor despite not knowing anything about construction work, Huffer would probably get stuck loading and unloading everything because he was a truck, and he was sure the earth's weather would find some way to kick his aft from here to planet Char! He hated this day already…

* * *

Tremor sat at her berth polishing her heel struts and going over battle formations in her head when Nova Beam entered. Tremor knew they had obstacle training the next morning so she wanted her trine to be ready. Of course Laugh Riot would probably do something to humiliate her, but some things simply couldn't be avoided.

"Have you performed your daily exercises, Nova Beam?" Tremor asked without looking up at her sister.

"Yes, Tremor," Nova Beam replied, "Listen, I just came in here to drop off a data pad that Commander Thorn Wind left for you. I didn't read it, just like he ordered. Could you tell him that, please? I don't want him to think I read his mail."

"He doesn't know about the time you read his emails, Nova Beam. I assure you," Tremor replied wryly.

"Thanks," Nova Beam sighed in relief.

Tremor took the data pad and scanned over it for a few minutes. She nodded a couple times and hummed a few affirmatives under her vocalizer. Nova Beam knew Tremor probably wouldn't tell her what was on that data pad, but curiosity was eating away at her as she watched Tremor read the blasted thing.

Finally, Tremor said "Nova Beam, clear your schedule for the 42nd."

"Why? What happens on the 42nd?" Nova Beam asked nervously.

"Thorn Wind and I are having our bonding ceremony then," Tremor replied in a matter-of-fact tone, "I will need you and Laugh Riot by my side as our two trines accept the added spark signatures of each other. Make sure you are clean and your jewelry is welded tight-"

"Wait a minute!" Nova Beam shouted suddenly, " _Bonded_? I didn't even know you and the commander were dating!"

"Of course you didn't,"Tremor replied sternly, "I have a life outside of this trine."

This was a huge shock for Nova Beam. She didn't even know Tremor was interested in mechs! Then again, knowing Tremor, this could just be another play for power. Commander Thorn Wind was influential and being his consort would open up doors for Tremor. Nova Beam didn't know whether to be happy for her sister's bonding or upset that she wasn't told about Thorn Wind before now.

"Something this makes me think about," Nova Beam said slowly, "Huffer told me that on earth when two flesh creatures want to bond that one will give the other jewelry as a sign of their love and commitment. It also signifies that the flesh creature is spoken for."

"Hm. Interesting," Tremor replied thoughtfully, "So...You believe I should give Thorn Wind an engagement present?"

"I don't know," Nova Beam shrugged, "You want to follow the custom of another world?"

"I'm not sure," Tremor replied noncommittally, "Perhaps it would be an endearing gesture. I suppose I could get him that platinum coil wing-lining I saw in the seeker supply shop the other orn. It would certainly look regal on him, and it would tell others that I have claimed him."

"That's the spirit!" Nova Beam said jovially.

Nova Beam and Tremor smiled at one another as they talked about plans for the bonding ceremony. It would certainly be a nice break from the humdrum activities going on around the base, and maybe having someone special in her life would help Tremor to mellow out. Then again, considering how high-strung both Tremor and Thorn Wind were...Yeah, that was unlikely.

* * *

Huffer and Perceptor were hard at work getting the electrical tower set up for energon collection for the base. All Huffer wanted to do was get this job over with so he could go back to his quarters and send a message to Nova Beam. They had discussed going on Combichat again and role playing as cyber wolves. He thought it was silly, but Nova Beam was a huge fan of a book that involved cyber wolves. Sometimes he wondered if he was too old for her...A thought he quickly forgot as a block of copper was dropped from the top of the tower and onto his pede!

"Ow! When is this stupid thing gonna be finished?" Huffer groused, "Every time we fix one part somethin' else breaks! We've been here for almost a joor!"

"Chin up, Huffer. We'll be done with the relays soon enough, and then we can move on to the fun part: solar panel cutting and configuration!" Perceptor exclaimed merrily, "Oh, have you finished welding the new beams in place?"

"Yeah, most of them," Huffer replied as he rubbed his sore foot, "Just need to tighten a few rivets on the plating."

The two worked in companionable silence for a while after that. Perceptor wasn't a bad mech in Huffer's opinion; at least when he wasn't yapping about some doohickey he was working on or talking about germs or plants or whatever caught his interest at the time. Huffer hoped he never got that annoying.

Huffer lined up a solar panel for welding when he saw a shadow cross his path from above, and then another, and then a few more. Huffer had a bad feeling about this, so he looked up and sure enough...Decepticons.

"Perceptor! Decepticons approachin'!" Huffer hollered up to Perceptor, who was still hanging from a bungee cord and connecting wires.

Perceptor looked up, and saw 7 Decepticons total. It was Starscream and his trine, the Coneheads, and Megatron.

"My word!" Perceptor exclaimed, and then he scrambled to get down from his precarious position.

Thrust, the red Conehead, began to fire on Perceptor in an effort to knock him down. The shots missed Perceptor, but they hit the solar tower in a few unfinished places.

"You fool!" Megatron yelled at Thrust, "We're trying to steal that thing! Don't damage it!"

"Uh, yes boss. Sorry, boss," Thrust ducked his pointy head in shame after they landed.

"Sniveling dolt," Starscream spat.

"You're one to talk, Screamer," Skywarp whispered to his trine leader, "You'd never grovel like that, would you Mr. Don't-Kill-Me-Megatron-I'm-Your-Loyal-Servant?"

"Shut up, Skywarp!" Starscream snapped at his mouthy (if correct) trinemate.

Megatron, meanwhile, had already approached the two Autobots standing between him and a new power source. He loomed over both of them with both his impressive height and cruel calculating red optics.

"Well, well, well. It looks like Prime is slipping if he only sent two little peons to guard his valuable generator," Megatron said in a condescending tone, "Step aside and I may let you live to tell of your cowardice."

"Go ahead and take it," Huffer said pessimistically, "It's no use. Fighting you and your forces is hopeless. I give up."

"Huffer, are you _mad_?" Perceptor asked incredulously, "We cannot allow Megatron to get ahold of this solar tower!"

"Why not?" Huffer asked defeatedly, "He's just gonna take it anyway. We might as well save our skid plates."

"A very wise decision, Autobot," Megatron sneered smugly at the minibot.

Perceptor couldn't believe his optics as the Decepticons walked right past them and started working on removing the generator. Huffer had surrendered! Why was he acting this way?

Then Perceptor noticed it, the gleam in Huffer's optic, that look that said the Decepticons had just taken the bait of a very obvious trap. Huffer quietly pulled a gun from his subspace while the Decepticons weren't looking, and Perceptor did the same. They aimed, Perceptor aiming at Starscream and Huffer Aiming at Ramjet, and they fired!

The two seekers went down like a sack of potatoes, and Megatron ordered the others to attack the Autobots! Huffer charged in front while Perceptor comm'ed Optimus Prime and asked for back-up (and quickly)!

Huffer shot down Thrust, but Dirge Skywarp and Thundercracker flew away before he could even aim for them! Dirge flew over Huffer and activated his fear engines, causing Huffer to feel slightly more anxiety than usual, but not enough to stop him. He aimed his pistol at Dirge and hit the seeker's right wing! Dirge went down, and Huffer took aim at Thundercracker. Before he could even hit Thundercracker however, Skywarp teleported behind Huffer and grabbed him!

Perceptor, meanwhile, was backed into a corner by Megatron and staring down the warlord's fusion cannon! Perceptor fired a few rounds into Megatron's chassis, but the grey armor was just too thick. Megatron fired on Perceptor, penetrating the armor and exposing his spark! He aimed for the spark chamber, but before he could fire there was the sound of engines coming over the horizon. The Autobots were coming, and Optimus Prime was leading the charge!

Megatron forgot Perceptor to grapple with his real foe. The Prime was a much better prize than some sniveling scientist any day.

Perceptor was barely conscious, and the last thing he saw before he passed out was Huffer's truck hood being brutally ripped off by Skywarp while Thundercracker pulled off the minibot's arms. He knew if he and Huffer made it through this they would be very lucky…


	12. Chapter 12

_Author's Note: Well, this chapter turned out pretty well. The plot is finally starting to move along now, and it'll probably be another 4 or 5 chapters before I finish this story. Hopefully you like this chapter as much as I liked writing it. Please review, follow, and/or favorite to read more :)_

* * *

Chapter 12

::Message from: NovaBeam,via,cyberdate,trn 2 orns ago. 6 creds to view message. Do you accept the charges? Y/N?::

Time Expired

::Message from: NovaBeam,via,cyberdate,trn 2 orns ago. 6 creds to view message. Do you accept the charges? Y/N?::

Time Expired

* * *

Nova Beam didn't understand. In earth time it had been almost a month since Huffer had last sent her an email. She found out from Cyberdate that Huffer had never even opened the emails she sent him. That wasn't like him.

The first thought that ran through her processor was that maybe Huffer was tired of her and instead of breaking up with her had decided to just sever all ties with her. She didn't think that made sense though. It wasn't in his nature to run away from his responsibilities. Huffer was the type that would complain about the rain but then stand out in the middle of it and do his job anyway. If he didn't want her anymore he might mope about how pointless their time together was, but at least he would actually _tell_ her.

Her next thought was that maybe his computer was broken and he was just too shy to ask another Autobot to borrow theirs for role playing or chatting with his femme. She hoped that was all it was, because the next few thoughts were dark and driving her to distraction.

The more time passed without hearing from Huffer, the more worried Nova Beam became. She had so much pent-up anxious energy from worrying about Huffer, and yet she had no way to expend that energy. She couldn't go to earth to find him, and emailing him wasn't working! She had tried calling Teletran 1, but Cliffjumper was the one who answered the call and he had been less than helpful. He just berated her for tying up the line when they needed to be alert in case of Decepticon activity. If only that pompous Autobot knew she _was_ Decepticon activity!

Nova Beam sighed sharply as she gulped down her energon in the mess hall with her trine. Nova Beam wasn't much of a drinker, but today she ordered high grade. She usually wasn't willing to pay extra for it, but today that didn't matter. It had been a month since she heard from Huffer. Two orns! She needed something to calm her fritzing circuits.

"Hey, slow down Nova Beam!" Laugh Riot exclaimed as she playfully snatched the cube out of Nova Beam's servo, "You're gonna give yourself processor damage."

Laugh Riot then drank the remaining contents of Nova Beam's cube. Nova Beam was ticked off that Laugh Riot was telling her what to do, but the fact that she stole her cube of energon was a surprisingly common occurrence. Laugh Riot knew nothing of personal space or polite boundaries.

"Any particular reason you're drowning yourself in cubed confidence?" Tremor asked with a deadpan expression.

"No, I'm just...worried." Nova Beam said glumly.

"Worried about what?" Laugh Riot asked.

"Oh, just...stuff," Nova Beam replied evasively.

"Will this _stuff_ be settled in time for my bonding ceremony?" Tremor asked selfishly, "It's tomorrow, and I need both of you at your best."

"Don't worry, boss," Laugh Riot waved away her concern, "Your bonding ceremony is gonna be the talk of Tarn. I heard Thorn Wind is gonna wear a cape. What color did he pick?"

"Red," Tremor replied, "It complements his black and yellow frame. We will also have the caterers serve high grade infused with boron and selenium. The tables will be made of pewter."

"Caterers? Wow! Swanky!" Laugh Riot exclaimed; impressed that Thorn Wind could afford such luxury in a war zone, "You're really comin' up in the universe! I hope you remember to invite us to whatever new home Thorn Wind settles you in. I hope it's on a planet with lower life forms. They're usually fun to torment."

"Laugh Riot, you must remember that we are still soldiers," Tremor replied; her practical side not allowing her to daydream for too long, "I will remain on the base with everyone else. I will simply share quarters with Thorn Wind instead of you and Nova Beam. That being said, nobody gets my stuff. I'm taking it with me."

Laugh Riot and Tremor continued to speak of the life-changing day ahead for Tremor, but Nova Beam could hardly bear to even listen to their conversation. She hated to admit this, but she felt slighted somehow. Tremor was going to have this wonderful new life with someone who loved her, and Nova Beam didn't even know if Huffer was alive or dead! In that moment she was so jealous of Tremor.

Their time in the mess hall was cut short, however, when the klaxons began to blare and the lights turned an ominous red! The announcer at the PA systems informed them that Autobots were rushing the base, and they needed all available Decepticons right now!

Tremor bolted upright and donned a firm gaze as she waited for her sisters to react with her. Laugh Riot flew up smoothly, and Nova Beam stood up hesitantly.

"Whoohoo! Let's go kick some Autobot tail!" Laugh Riot shouted as she flew to the left of where Tremor was flying.

Nova Beam flew to Tremor's right and the three seekers flew through the doors with the others in an effort to head off the Autobots. It was as if a swarm of angry hornets were flying out of the building as they stormed through the air! The sounds of their engines was deafening as they made their way to the Autobots! They were sure that this battle was going to be too easy…

* * *

Cosmos had sent word to the Ark that he was coming back to earth soon. He had been gone for almost a month as he made his way to Cybertron and back. Perceptor had recovered from his injuries with minimal damage thanks to the Autobots' quick response, but Huffer had been ripped to pieces! It was a wonder his spark still functioned, and Ratchet had kept his spark and processor in stasis ever since then while he waited for replacement parts from Cybertron.

Huffer's damages had been brutal. His hood had been ripped off, his arms had been pulled off his body, his chassis was ripped away, and his optics had been broken! His spark had been so weak by the time they got him back to the Ark that few actually thought he would survive.

Gears and Brawn knew those seekers could be sadistic, but they didn't understand why they wouldn't just let him die. Brawn swore he would get revenge for Huffer, but Gears didn't say anything. He couldn't feel angry because he was too busy feeling hurt and sick. Many mechs didn't know this about Gears, but when he was depressed he couldn't even complain. He would just sit alone and say nothing.

First Aid rushed out to greet Cosmos before he could even come inside. He knew Ratchet was too busy in the medbay to get the parts himself, and he also knew Cosmos liked to talk after a long journey.

"Cosmos, how are you, my friend?" First Aid greeted him warmly as Cosmos gently landed just outside the Ark door.

"Oh, can't complain," Cosmos replied optimistically, "I have the supplies you need to repair Huffer. Oh, and I also took some photos of various planets while I was in space on my way back here. Would you like to see them?"

"Um, sure, but how about we wait until after Ratchet gets these parts?" First Aid suggested; hoping to hurry the green and yellow minibot along.

"Oh, of course," Cosmos nodded as he and First Aid walked back to the medbay, "I know I shouldn't get distracted so easily, but try to understand that in space there isn't as much to look at as you'd think. After a while the stars all look the same and I find myself wanting to go to sleep. It's like a galactic form of highway hypnosis. Here on planet earth there are so many things to distract me! I wish I wasn't always called away. Sometimes I just want to stop and enjoy things for a while…"

Cosmos continued to talk until the two Autobots made it to the medbay where Ratchet was working on Trailbreaker's hood. The jeep was stuck in alt mode, and the good doctor was reconnecting wires that would allow his transformation cog to function properly.

"Um, Ratchet? Cosmos is here with the parts," first Aid informed his boss.

"In a minute. Apparently it's up to me to keep this glitch-head from turning himself into a microwave oven when no one's looking!" Ratchet snapped as he tightened a bolt in Trailbreaker's internals a little too tightly, "There, now. Can you transform?"

"Let me see…" Trailbreaker contorted and rotated until he was finally in his robot mode.

Ratchet nodded in satisfaction as Trailbreaker tested out his joints to make sure everything was working.

"Wow, thanks Doc. You're a real life saver," Trailbreaker shook Ratchet's hand as he thanked him.

"Yes, well, don't let it happen again or I'll reformat you into a television set!" Ratchet said irritably, but everyone could hear the smile underneath.

Once Trailbreaker left the medbay Ratchet went over to Cosmos to get the part. Of course, it was never that easy with Cosmos. He and Bluestreak could start a competitive talk-your-audio-sensor-off sporting event together! Ratchet stood there and listened as Cosmos spoke about all the star clusters he saw, the different robots he met at the various space ports, and a technique for making bouquets out of microchips attached to wire.

First Aid tended to the patients while Ratchet stood there and waited for the parts he needed to repair Huffer. First Aid was still in awe of the fact that Ratchet had been able to keep the blue and orange minibot alive for so long. Truth be told, he didn't think Huffer would survive his sustained injuries, and even with all of Ratchet's care it had been touch and go for most of the time.

After an hour and a half Cosmos finally left. He probably would've stayed longer, but Ratchet told him Blaster was looking forward to seeing Cosmos' photos. Blaster was one of the few 'Bots on the ship that could listen to Cosmos and never get bored. Then again, it didn't really seem like Blaster was capable of boredom.

"Alright First Aid, sterilize your servos. We're going to operate on Huffer," Ratchet said as he grabbed the necessary tools and placed them on the table next to Huffer's berth, "I'll show you a few tricks for quick yet professional surgery. Pay attention now, since this knowledge could mean life and death out on the battlefield!"

"Yes, sir," First Aid nodded.

Together the two medics got to work on the repairs. It had been a month, but it looked like Huffer was finally going to pull through.

* * *

Nova Beam's optics felt like they were going to break just from all the bright lights in the sky! There was so much gunfire that it was literally blinding the poor femme! The battle was not going well for the Decepticons. They didn't know how, but somehow the Autobots had found a weakness in their defenses and were cutting right through the seeker assault as if they were made of glass!

/Nova Beam, turn to starboard!/ Tremor shouted over the comm link.

Nova Beam veered out of the way just in time as an anti-aircraft missile whizzed right by her helm! She gasped, wondering if it was a heat seeking missile, but it careened harmlessly into an abandoned building nearly. Laugh Riot dove down sharp and took one of the Autobots down with her arm cannon! She whooped and laughed all the way back up to meet her sisters in the air!

/Maneuver shiv nitro!/ Tremor ordered, and the other two got into position for one of their practiced air stunts.

Tremor spun around until she could barely see in front of her, and Laugh Riot and Nova Beam turned around so their thrusters were burning on her spinning frame. Once Tremor was hot enough, Nova Beam and Laugh Riot used their boosters to push her toward a large enemy target; a group of flying minibots! Tremor bounded furiously into the group and sliced into three of the minibots; killing them instantly! Nova Beam turned away so she wouldn't see the carnage, and Laugh Riot cheered Tremor on!

/Good work, femmes,/ Tremor said in a clipped tone as she flew down to engage another enemy.

Nova Beam and Laugh Riot took that as their cue to join her down on the ground and kick some Autobot afterburners! Laugh Riot gleefully punched, kicked, and shot at Autobots while Tremor and Nova Beam took a more businesslike approach to their duties.

The Autobots were still gaining traction and seemed to be winning the skirmish in general, but Tremor and her sisters were holding their own well and culling the numbers of the enemy as best as they could. Soon, however, they found that they were in big trouble when they saw Autobot space shuttles coming down at them! Their armor was strong, and it would take more than a few seekers to take them down.

/Alright sisters, listen up!/ Tremor barked into the comm link, /We're going to engage the spacecraft minibots./

/Are you crazy? We can't do it! It's hopeless!/ Nova Beam whined into the comm link in return.

/We can do it,/ Tremor argued, /We are a cohesive unit; a seeker trine. Those Autobot slaggers have nothing on us. Now, we're going to perform a giga blaster maneuver on them./

/ _Excuse_ me?/ Laugh Riot contested, /We've never done that successfully!/

There was silence over the comm link for a few seconds, but then...

/Let's go for it,/ Nova Beam said despite herself, /If Tremor thinks we can do it, then we can do it./

Laugh Riot actually turned around to look at Nova Beam, not sure if she heard that correctly. The giga blaster was a stunt move invented by a seeker named Sunstorm, and most trines had never successfully done it. Laugh Riot was still skeptical, but if anything could break the hard shells of those Autobots, it would be this move.

Once everyone was in position, Tremor activated her thrusters and flew straight into the air and up into the thin edge of the atmosphere. Laugh Riot and Nove Beam flew away, Laugh Riot to the left and Nova Beam to the right. This move would have to be perfectly executed if they were going to survive, let alone attack the enemy. Nova Beam and Laugh Riot would have to fly out on either side and fly back at sonic speeds just as Tremor was falling to the ground. They would then have to grab Tremor on either side and fling her up to the enemy while her core temperature was still over 1000 degrees Fahrenheit from re-entry.

/I'm ready, sisters!/ Tremor announced.

Laugh Riot and Nova Beam each turned back around and flew straight toward each other. Timing was everything with this move, and one mistake could kill them all. Tremor disengaged her thrusters and started to fall back down to Cybertron! The atmosphere wasn't quite as thick as earth, but it more than made up for that with gravity.

Laugh Riot and Nova Beam were in position, but they were not unnoticed! One of the shuttles saw what they were trying to do, and starting shooting at the seekers hoping to hit them before they got to Tremor! Despite their incredible speed, one of the shuttle's shots hit its mark and impacted Nova Beam in the shoulder vent; throwing her off course and forcing her to stop and land!

Laugh Riot barely had time to register what had happened before she realized that she would be grabbing Tremor's heated and plummeting body by herself! The sheer G force was too much for a single seeker to hold alone, so when she grabbed Tremor they both fell down to the ground and broke into a million pieces! They didn't even have enough time to scream.

Nova Beam could only watch in horror as her sisters collided with the ground and shattered! Despite her own injuries she flew over and searched for their sparks, hoping against all hope that there might be enough of them to save.

There was not…

Nova Beam no longer noticed the battle that continued to rage all around her. Only one thing mattered at that moment. She stared dumbly at the pieces of what used to be her sisters, and silent cleaning fluid drained from her ruby optics.

"She was going to be bonded…" Nova Beam whispered into the air; her words smothered by the sounds of cannon fire and screaming combatants, "...She was going to be a bride...I'm sorry...I'm so, _so sorry_ …"


	13. Chapter 13

_Author's Notes: I enjoyed writing this chapter, and I hope you enjoy reading it as well. Your reviews are always such a joy to read and really push me to keep writing! This story is one of my favorites that I've worked on, which is weird considering I had never done a romance before. I'm not that sure I've done it now XD_

 _I really relate to Huffer as a character. He's the type that will do whatever you need but whine and complain the whole time he's doing it. I totally get that! Anyway, thank you for reading, and please enjoy this next installment of Do You Accept The Charges? :)_

* * *

Chapter 13

Nova Beam sat in Thorn Wind's office two joors after her two trine mates' deaths. She was still hurting, but now that grief was compounded by a sense of guilt and nervous tension. She looked around his office. It was as sparse as usual, but one thing caught her attention like a slap in the face plate. There was a red cape draped over his chair; his wedding cape.

Thorn Wind entered the room and sat down quickly, his movements stiff and filled with suppressed rage. He looked at Nova Beam angrily, and she shifted awkwardly in her chair. It was clear what that look meant: _This is your fault._

"Nova Beam, I'm not going to waste your time or mine with pleasantries or empty condolences," Thorn Wind began quickly, his tone sharp, "The reason I brought you here is to tell you that I don't want you in my unit anymore. Your behavior was just deplorable out there."

"But sir, I-" Nova Beam tried to explain.

"No! I speak, you listen," Thorn Wind hissed, "Your medical tests after the incident showed your systems contained 17.5% high grade energon. You went out into battle impaired, and moved slowly enough for an Autobot to shoot you during a critical time in combat. Needless to say, I don't ever want to see you again. Because of you my lover is dead, as is one of her trine mates. Now, I am not an unreasonable officer, so I will help you find a new position in a new unit. In fact, I already have something lined up if you're inclined to accept."

"Accept? Since when does cannon fodder get a choice?" Nova Beam asked critically.

"Normally you wouldn't, but this is a volunteer assignment," Thorn Wind explained, "Do you remember my trine mate Freefall?"

Nova Beam nodded her head _yes_.

"Well, he currently works in Darkmount as one of Shockwave's lab assistants," Thorn Wind informed her, "Because Freefall is privy to all of Shockwave's strategies and projects he knows about a classified opportunity to serve Shockwave himself."

"Really?" Nova Beam asked. It sounded too good to be true, "But I don't know anything about science and stuff like that. I'm not that smart. Even Laugh Riot was smarter than me, and forgive me, but she was a maniac!"

"You don't have to be a scientist," Thorn Wind said with a wicked smirk, "Shockwave wants test subjects. Now, I don't know the specifics of the project since it is on a need-to-know basis, but I do know that it pays triple your current vorn's wage."

"Whoa...I'll admit that's a lot of credits, but I don't know..." Nova Beam was conflicted by the whole thing, "...What's the catch?"

"Just one catch that I know of, and I'm fairly sure this won't be a problem for you," Thorn Wind said bitterly, "You must sever ties with everyone you know. No more contact with family, former team members, friends...nothing. I have a feeling that Shockwave plans to reformat his volunteers, but I could be wrong."

Thorn Wind was right. Nova Beam didn't have a problem with this. Huffer hadn't contacted her in orns, and her sisters were dead. She had no friends, and she had no future here in Tarn. Moving to Polyhex and going to Darkmount seemed like the best option. Even if she died or was horribly disfigured, what did it really matter? What did _she_ really matter?

"I'll do it," Nova Beam said softly, "Get me an interview, sir."

Thorn Wind smiled widely, knowing his weak link was about to be someone else's problem. Nova Beam bowed and left his office.

As she left, Nova Beam softly whispered to herself "Maybe Shockwave will build me into something competent…"

* * *

Windcharger walked down the peaceful hallways of Autobot Headquarters. He had just come off the late shift and was going to recharge now that it was early morning. Everything seemed peaceful. Well, it _did_ , until he heard hurried footsteps coming right for him!

Gears nearly collided into Windcharger as he ran down the halls of the Ark! The red and blue minibot had just received news from Brawn that Huffer was waking up, and he wanted to be there to see his friend when his optics onlined for the first time in over a month! He had snapped at Brawn for disturbing him when he first got the message, but in reality he was happy enough to kiss him and Ratchet too!

He made it into the medbay to see that First Aid, Brawn, and Bumblebee were all in there. Ratchet had left to recharge, which was a shame because Gears really wanted to thank the medic for working so hard to keep Huffer alive. He decided to settle for the next best thing.

"Hey First Aid, I see you managed not to screw anything up," Gears commented, "I'm surprised his arms aren't on backwards."

First Aid smiled despite the seemingly harsh words. He knew what Gears meant to say was _thank you_.

Huffer heard the others before he saw anything. He could hear monitors buzzing and beeping, and he could hear the conversation between Gears and First Aid. A minute later he heard Bumblebee say "Gee, I hope he isn't in too much pain…"

Huffer onlined his optics, and he saw his three minibot friends gathered around his berth and First Aid off to his right side working on a monitor. It took a moment before the events that led him here came back to memory. He remembered Skywarp grabbing his arms from behind. He remembered Thundercracker's sadistically gleeful face as he ripped away Huffer's chest armor. He remembered shooting Ramjet. Heh, at least he gave as good as he got.

"Hey guys, I think I saw the matrix…" Huffer said in a strained voice.

"Really? You did?" Bumblebee asked in awe.

"No, I just wanted to see if I was really that bad off," Huffer said with a mischievous smirk.

Huffer then laughed at tricking Bumblebee, and the yellow minibot crossed his arms and pouted. Gears laughed too. It was good to have Huffer back, and even better that he got that sickeningly sweet Bumblebee like that.

"Hey Huffer, you sure you're doin' alright?" Brawn asked, concerned.

"Yeah, I'm fine," Huffer replied, "Though I gotta give props to the doc bots. I'm pretty sure I was in more pieces than Humpty Dumpty!"

"You were," First Aid replied, his tone more serious than Huffer's, "Ratchet had to keep your spark and processor in stasis lock separate from your body because it couldn't support your life anymore. We had to order several parts from Cybertron and wait for a month to get them here."

"Really? Well next time instead of doin' that just send my spark to Cybertron and have someone rebuild me there," Huffer suggested half-jokingly, "Seriously though...A month. I've been out of it for a month? Hey Gears...Did you manage to contact Nova Beam?"

"No," Gears replied defensively, "I don't know your password. Besides, you're okay now. You can email her when you feel up to it."

Bumblebee looked at Brawn with a concerned expression, and Brawn just shrugged in reply. Huffer looked utterly beside himself! If no one contacted Nova Beam and he had died then she never would've known what had happened to him! He had to get in touch with her as soon as he could!

* * *

Nova Beam sat in Shockwave's lab with four other Decepticons. The group looked very...bored. That was the only word for it. She and the other Decepticons were just plain bored! Shockwave kept them waiting for two hours while he went over their medical records, energon levels, intelligence tests, and the results of several tests of endurance he forced them through. The hard part was over, and now they were all bored.

Nova Beam didn't know their names, but she saw that two were identical humanoid Cassetticons. They were both pink, but one was a mech and the other a femme. There was also a large car-former that kept playing with his dagger by quickly stabbing it around his digits. The last one was a seeker like her, but he was a mech, and he had a very shifty gleam in his optics.

Needless to say, this group made Nova Beam nervous, so she didn't actually talk to any of them. She just sat in her seat and tried not to think of her sisters. It had been five earth days since they died, and already she was meeting with the most powerful Decepticon on Cybertron and awaiting the fate he chose for her. She chided herself in her own processor for thinking in terms of earth days. Huffer was gone, for whatever reason, and thinking of earth would only depress her more. Why did everyone leave her at once?

Shockwave entered the room (finally) and turned his attention to the five Decepticons giving him the skunk-optic because he kept them waiting for so long.

"I have screened each and every one of you, and you are exactly what I have come to expect of the _elite_ Decepticon army," Shockwave said in a voice that sounded just a bit sarcastic, "Individually you are all worthless, but together I believe I can turn you into the greatest threat to Autobot lives since cosmic rust."

Shockwave had their attention now, and he seemed to revel in the grandiose speech he was giving them. Clearly whatever this project was he was very proud of it, and expected them to be proud of being chosen for it.

"Ladies and gentlemechs, I intend to merge you into a new gestalt unit," Shockwave revealed, "One that will rival the likes of Devastator, Menasor, and Bruticus. You will be closer to each other than anyone else in your lives before this moment. This new gestalt will be special, because it will fly as fast as the elite trine, fight with the brute strength of Devastator, and think with the mind of a battle simulation computer. If you choose to accept this assignment, then you will no longer be mere grunts. You will be known throughout Cybertron as one of the deadliest killing machines I have ever produced! If any of you wish to back out, you must do so now."

Everyone looked at each other, and then back at Shockwave. This was an opportunity most Decepticons would kill for. It was an opportunity some _had_ killed for! A gestalt unit was both expensive and difficult to produce. There was a steep learning curve, and the integration could drive some mechs insane! Vortex was never the same after becoming part of Bruticus, and _every_ member of the Stunticons was unstable! The bond these five would share would be stronger than a trine or even a split spark twin, and they would have to be together all the time in case they were needed to merge into their gestalt form.

After a minute it was clear no one was leaving. They had all just volunteered to be Shockwave's new assassins. Shockwave's optic glowed slightly brighter. He was clearly pleased with their decision.

"Congratulations, my new warriors," Shockwave intoned, "From now on, your former names and former lives are gone. You, seeker femme! Step forward."

Nova Beam gulped involuntarily as she slowly got up out of her seat. She hated it when she was called on first for anything, and somehow this seemed even worse.

"Yes, sir?" Nova Beam squeaked, and then flinched at how pathetic her voice sounded.

"Your test results show you to have the greatest level of endurance and the sharpest processor," Shockwave informed her, and she saw the male seeker seethe at her jealously, "You will be the torso and head, and also the new combiner leader. From now on, your name is Shadow Star. I expect you to memorize it and answer to it when summoned."

"Yes, sir!" Shadow Star answered in a clipped tone of voice, "Glory to the Decepticons!"

Shockwave then pointed to a double door with his gun arm, and Shadow Star ran over to stand next to it. She was just grateful to be out of punching distance of Shockwave.

"You, male seeker! Step forward," Shockwave called the other seeker over, "You are the swiftest member of the team. You will form the wings of the gestalt, and your name is now Jailbird. Take your place next to Shadow Star."

"Sir," the seeker nodded formally to Shockwave, but looked at Shadow Star with pure envy and hatred.

"Cassettes, step forward," Shockwave called the next candidates, "The mech is now named Mischief, and you will form the left arm. Femme cassette is now Mayhem, and you form the right arm. Car-former! Step forward. You tested as the strongest member of the team. You will form the legs, and your new name is Lowrider. Take your position. Good. Now that all of you are debriefed, you will now follow me to the reconstruction lab where I and my assistants will rebuild you into your new forms. Your gestalt form's name will be Malfactor. Training begins after your bodies are finished."

The five went through the door, and it seemed most of them were apprehensive. Jailbird pushed Shadow Star out of the way so he could go first.

 _Great_... Shadow Star thought to herself. _Looks like we've got a Starscream on this team._..

* * *

Shadow Star awoke from surgery feeling like she had been repeatedly hit with a hammer. Apparently nobody believed in pain killers in this place! She looked around to see Jailbird was gone, but the other three were still asleep. She saw something else as well...Their paint jobs. They were all burgundy with dark grey markings, and it was so ugly and mismatched!

Shadow Star gulped and nervously looked down at herself. Sure enough, she also had the ugly dark red paint with the ugly dark grey patterns. She wanted to cry, but didn't have the strength left to do so. She had already had so much to cry about. It just didn't seem worth it to cry over paint.

She looked in the mirror, and wondered if she was a masochist for doing so. She was hideous! Her wings were gone! Her frame was bulkier now, and her head has a large spiked headpiece that looked like Arcee's helmet covered in needles!

Nova Beam sighed, and touched her reflection in the mirror, which gave the illusion of touching back. Even her red optics looked listless with this drab new body.

"...Goodbye, Ivory Femme…" Shadow Star whispered to herself as she realized she wasn't pretty anymore, and given her new job didn't have a reason to be.


	14. Chapter 14

_Author's Notes: I have something to confess about the name Shadow Star. It's a recycled name! I actually already used it as the name of a cyber-organic ship in my novel, but I was too lazy to think of anything better! Oh well, hopefully my plot points are more on point than my lazy character naming skills. I hope you enjoy this chapter of Do You Accept The Charges, and don't forget to leave a review :)_

* * *

Chapter 14

::Message from: Huffer,via,cyberdate,trn 2 orns ago. 6 creds to view message. Do you accept the charges? Y/N?::

Time Expired

::Message from: Huffer,via,cyberdate,trn 2 orns ago. 6 creds to view message. Do you accept the charges? Y/N?::

Time Expired

::Message from: Huffer,via,cyberdate,trn 2 orns ago. 6 creds to view message. Do you accept the charges? Y/N?::

Time Expired

* * *

Message after message, and each one came back unread. Huffer hadn't been able to get in touch with Nova Beam for months, and at this point he was sure she was gone. Whether she broke up with him or died hardly mattered, since either way he was left without her.

Huffer would normally give up on something after a couple of attempts, but for some reason he felt compelled to continue to send letters to Nova Beam. He missed her so much, and his spark ached with the suspicion that she was dead. He swore to himself that if he ever got in touch with her again that he would convince her to come down to earth and bond with him. He realized that life was so much worse without her.

He looked at her photo on his desk, those crystal blue optics staring joyously back at him, and wondered if she was in trouble. His imagination plagued him with thoughts of her being captured by the Decepticons, tortured, raped, and alone in a cold dark cell crying her optics out for him. More than anything he wished he could go back to Cybertron and look for her, but he had his duties on earth and couldn't leave no matter how much he wanted to.

Speaking of duties, Huffer remembered that he needed to check the bulletin board for his assignment for the day. For the past week he had been on monitor duty, and that had been as boring as watching paint dry, so he hoped for something better today. He walked down the hall and checked the board. It said he had weapons maintenance today. That seemed fine. Cleaning a few guns. How bad could it be? Then he got a good look at the other two names on the list…

"Blaster and Jazz? Aw, _no_!" Huffer exclaimed in the empty hall; his voice echoing in the still air, "Those two audiophiles? I'll never get a moment's peace! It's bad enough I'm stuck cleaning guns all day, do I have to go deaf too?"

Huffer stomped off and went to meet the other mechs for their assignment. He grumbled the whole way there, and he saw no reason to stop complaining when he got there. It was the only thing left he had any control over, and he was going to take advantage of it for all he was worth.

* * *

Shadow Star had spent the past few orns training with her new gestalt mates. They were an interesting bunch to say the least, and working with them helped her to slowly take her mind off everything she had left behind.

Jailbird was probably the person she liked the least. He clearly was upset that he didn't get to be the gestalt leader. Still, Shadow Star knew she was safe from his wrath. Unlike a typical unit, a gestalt unit couldn't kill off its own members because that would kill the combiner form. Malfactor needed every member, and that included both Jailbird and Shadow Star.

Shockwave was rarely seen after that initial meeting. Usually their training was overseen by an assistant. Shadow Star wanted to see her old teammate Freefall, but he didn't work in the super soldier division. He worked with animals and plants from other planets.

Mischief and Mayhem were probably Shadow Star's favorite team members to talk to. Both of them were so feisty, and they could talk for hours without her even having to say a thing. Like Shadow Star, they joined the team due to the death of a loved one. Instead of a trine, however, they had lost their carrier. Both of them were so used to sleeping in their carrier's chest that it was difficult to get them used to a berth.

Lowrider wasn't as stupid as Shadow Star thought at first, but that didn't make him a genius or anything. He was just a typical working stiff that joined the Decepticons out of fear. He was a mech of few words, but he seemed like a nice guy. Shadow Star didn't know him very well outside of combining. No one did.

When Shadow Star thought about Malfactor as a concept, she realized just how revolutionary it was. It was billed as the first winged gestalt (within the Decepticon ranks anyway), but Shadow Star realized it was also the first gestalt made up of both mechs and femmes! In fact, it was the first gestalt to feature femmes at all! Shadow Star and Mayhem were the first femmes to be part of a gestalt. They would make history! That also made Malfactor the first androgynous combiner.

The thing Shadow Star missed the most about her old life oddly enough wasn't her family or her boyfriend. It was her wings. She never realized how much they meant to her until they were gone. Part of her hated how vain she was acting, but her new body was so ugly! She never thought much of herself before, but now she really understood what it meant to look hideous. Several staff members actually mistook her for a mech!

After all the time they spent learning how to use their new forms, the time had finally come. New alt modes had been chosen, skills had been learned, and now the group was moving to a new location. They were going to Iacon to drive back the Autobots and take out several key leaders in the group. Malfactor would destroy everything in its path, but the main targets were Alpha Trion, Ultra Magnus, and Elita One. They would feel the wrath of the Decepticons as they were crushed in Malfactor's servo!

"Hey, Shadow Star!" Mischief called from outside their shared quarters, "You almost ready? The shuttle's coming soon, and I wanna get there as quickly as possible! I can't believe we're really going to Iacon!"

"I know," Shadow Star said with a small smile, "I never thought I would be part of something this important. It doesn't seem real…"

"So, you coming?" Mischief asked eagerly.

"Soon, Mischief. Soon," Shadow Star said; her tone a little more somber than before.

Mischief didn't know why Shadow Star was acting so weird, but he just shrugged it off and went to join Mayhem in waiting for the shuttle.

Shadow Star sighed as she thought about everything she had to give up to make this power trip possible. It wasn't just her looks. Her voice was hollow and sounded like more than one femme speaking at once. It was very intimidating. Certainly not the squeaky girly voice she once had when she was just a perky faceless seeker. She also had to give up her one chance at love. Huffer was everything she had ever wanted in a mech. He was kind, strong, intelligent, and masculine. Then again, the new gestalt had nothing to do with her being separated from him. He stopped contacting her first. For all she knew he was dead.

That made her think about something else. She had been so busy lately that she never even bothered to check her messages! Of course, that would be frowned upon anyway. Nova Beam legally didn't exist, so she should delete her email account and start over as Shadow Star. Nodding to herself, she decided to check one last time, and then delete the account forever.

Shadow Star looked at the account, and saw that there was not one, not two, but _three_ messages waiting for her from Huffer! It would cost 18 creds to view every email, but given her new salary that was nothing to her now.

::Hey Nova Beam, it's Huffer again. I don't know where you are, but wherever it is I hope you're safe. If you really, really don't wanna hear from me no more, then just tell me! I can't take it anymore! I miss you, and I just want to know you're safe...Even if it means you chose somebody else over me. I love you, babe. Huffer::

::Nova Beam, I've come to terms with something. You're probably in the matrix by now. With my stupid luck I'll probably live forever if that's true! If you can read this, then I just want you to know our time together has been some of the best of my life. If you are alive, then I want you to come to earth. I don't care what you gotta do, I'll pay for it myself if I have to! I've got a friend named Cosmos, he's a space shuttle, and he can get you down to earth no problem! He talks a lot, but it's a small price to pay to get you off Cybertron. I thought I wanted to go back to Cybertron, but the Decepticons have really ramped up their attacks in the past few solar cycles. You gotta come down here! I'll even talk to Prime about it! He's gotta say yes! He just...He's just _got_ to. Please...I can protect you...Please come down, Nova Beam! Please come to earth and we can start a new life together. We can finally get bonded...At this point I don't care if you leave me for Prowl, just let me know you're alright! Please…::

::Hey Nova Beam. It's Huffer. You won't believe the awful day I had! I got stuck working with Jazz and Blaster cleaning old weapons. Well, first I accidentally grabbed Wheeljack's old sonic gun to clean, and the blasted thing explodes all over me! Well, once I recovered from that shock I got stuck working on Ironhide's cannons, and he is such an anal-retentive perfectionist that I would have to work on the same weapon for at least a half hour at a time! Then Jazz starts listening to this earth style of music called rock and roll, and it gives me a headache! As if that wasn't bad enough, Blaster is into this style called rap, and I'm not even sure if it's music! It sounds more like a mating call for wheel-bots! You know, those idiots from Antilla that used to only speak in rhyme? Yeesh! It's torture! Speaking of torture...I hope you, well, haven't been. Okay, that came out wrong! I'm sorry! Just, you know, be safe. I'll see you...soon enough. Love you :') Huffer::

Shadow Star touched the screen, and it was as if she had awakened from a dream and had seen reality for the first time in orns! Huffer was alive, and he was worried about her! She had to contact him! _Wait_! How was she going to do that? She had to delete her email account.

Shadow Star sat back and thought about the dilemma. She didn't look the same. She didn't sound the same. Even her _name_ wasn't the same! Could she even call herself the same femme Huffer fell in love with? She couldn't email him, and she couldn't call him since her voice wouldn't sound right. Besides, she didn't like using the audio device anymore. It reminded her too much of Laugh Riot since she was the one who bought it for Nova Beam in the first place.

That was when it came to her: Combichat! Her Combichat account was on an Autobot frequency and therefore untraceable by the Decepticons! She still had a way to contact Huffer! She only hoped he was near his computer…

* * *

::Connecting to combichat,abt...Please wait for your party to connect...Party connected. 4 creds per breem. Do you accept the charges?::

Y

NBAviator: Huffer! You answered! Oh, thank goodness you're there!

HuffNstuff: Nova Beam! What happened? Where were you?!

NBAviator: I should ask you the same question! You ignored me for two orns! What happened to you?

HuffNstuff: A couple of seekers decided to play keep-away with my arms and legs. Nothing the medics couldn't handle. What about you? Where have you been?!

NBAviator: Well...That information is classified, but I can still use the Combichat site since it's encrypted. Still, I'm going to have to delete my email and avoid long distance calls. If you want to contact me, then you need to use Combitchat.

HuffNstuff: Oh, okay then. I'm just glad you're alright. Hey, I've got an idea! Let's set up a time every day that you contact me! That sound Ok?

NBAviator: Sure! I still know earth time :3

HuffNstuff: Cool. So, how about 20:00?

NBAviator: Perfect :3

HuffNstuff: Hey Nova Beam? Are we still...Together?

NBAviator: Of course, silly!

HuffNstuff: Good ;)


	15. Chapter 15

_Author's Notes: Sorry this update took so long, but I've had a lot of stories on this site to juggle and even more in the works for later after I finish a story or two. All my updates will soon probably be slower though. Next week I have jury duty...Yeah, being an adult isn't as much fun as it looked in the brochure :(_

* * *

Chapter 15

The citizens of the Autobot refugee camp ran screaming as Malfactor tore through the landscape like an angry tornado! Bodies were ripped apart, widows cried, and sparklings were left orphaned by the behemoth's path of destruction. Malfactor was one of the highest profile Decepticons stationed on the planet at that time, and not since Devastator roamed Cybertron had its citizens been so terrified for their lives.

Once Malfactor was finished pillaging the camp the five parts of the gestalt separated and surveyed the results of their handiwork. Jailbird flew up in the air and whooped triumphantly. It reminded Shadow Star of her late sister Laugh Riot. The twins high-fived each other, and Lowrider just stood there and nodded like a rusty bobble-head. Shadow Star looked at the smoking craters and grey bodies with a detached sense of otherworldliness. It was as if she were looking at the scene through the lense of a dream. There was no way her gestalt did this...no way...

She often asked of herself what had she become. Many Decepticons would've given anything to be her. She had power, fame, and was in command of a gestalt unit feared throughout Cybertron. She didn't want power though. She wanted happiness. She wanted peace of mind and the ability to recharge at night. She wanted Huffer in her arms and the waters of earth washing over her beautiful white seeker frame! She didn't want to be a big bulky gestalt leader anymore! She wanted to be Nova Beam…

"Hey, boss?" Mischief called out to Shadow Star.

"Yes?" Shadow Star replied distractedly.

"We should probably get out of here before the Autobots show up," Mischief suggested, "You know there's a pretty big price on our heads. Especially yours, boss. We should go."

"Agreed. And don't call me _boss_ ," Shadow Star growled low as she took an enerjolt out of subspace and struck it against her arm to light it.

Shadow Star walked away with her unit and sucked the light blue liquid out of her enerjolt stick. She exhaled the powder blue smoke into the air and stared at it as it wafted into the night air. Ever since taking this job she had developed the bad habit of exhaling concentrated high grade in the form of enerjolt sticks.

When she made it back to their headquarters the first thing she did was head into her room and look at her internal chronometer. 18:20. She still had some time before Huffer expected her to log onto Combichat. She decided to use that time to sit back and rest her optics. She seemed to recharge a lot more lately. She assumed it was just the stress of the combiner team's energy flowing into her when they were Malfactor. She would have to ask Shockwave about that…

* * *

Huffer had finished rebuilding a dam the Decepticons had destroyed. Gears had been assigned to help him with the project, and while the work didn't go very fast with Gears around at least Huffer had someone to talk to. Well, Gears did most of the talking. He mostly told Huffer about the different ailments he was sure he had that Ratchet was ignoring.

Huffer was too distracted to have any meaningful input in the conversation. He was trying to rush the job because he wanted to get back to the Ark in time to chat with Nova Beam. She had been on his mind a lot lately. There had been intelligence reports on Cybertron about a vicious new combiner team called the Shockticons (named after Shockwave's involvement in their creation) and Huffer worried Nova Beam might be in an area they attacked. She had mentioned visiting Iacon, and Malfactor had been spotted in Iacon.

When they drove home Huffer went faster than usual. He still drove under the speed limit though. Huffer was usually one of the slowest Autobots on the road, so to even attempt to look like he was trying was unusual. Gears noticed his friend's behavior, but didn't say anything. He knew about the new combiner as well, and knew that Huffer was trying to hide the fact that it worried him.

When Huffer got back to the Ark he asked Gears to handle the report to Prime so he could go back to his quarters first thing. Gears grumbled about it, but ultimately agreed to it.

Huffer made it to his quarters and looked at his chronometer. 18:45. It would be awhile before Nova Beam expected him so he decided to get in a few minutes of recharge…

* * *

Shadow Star awoke with aching joints and a massive helmache. A nasty side effect of the enerjolts, she was sure. She worked her jaw and stretched to lubricate her joints, and then looked at her internal chronometer...22:05. Uh oh. She was supposed to log onto Combichat two earth hours ago!

It figured. She had asked Lowrider to send reports to coincide with the times she needed to log onto Combitchat so she would never forget. Of course, she never told him _that_ little detail. Still, this meant Lowrider forgot to file a report on the battle from earlier. If he weren't such a good listener his helm would've been hanging on her wall _orns_ ago.

* * *

Huffer awoke after a nightmare about the destruction of Tyger Pax brought him out of a fitful recharge cycle. He always hated that memory. He had been trapped under that rubble for two joors before anyone found him, and even at that he was saved by Bluestreak. Yeah, the car ride back had been full of useless facts and boring-as-pit conversation. That was usually the scariest part of the dream; being trapped in that blabbermouth's alt mode for joors on end!

He got up, scratched his aft, and then looked at his internal chronometer...22:07.

"Ah, scrap!" Huffer groused, "I missed Nova Beam's chat! No way would she wait that long for me! It would cost a fortune!"

He sadly went over to the computer to check, just in case. He clicked the icon for NBAviator, and was pleasantly surprised to see she was online and awaiting his connection! He didn't miss his chat!

* * *

::Connecting to combichat,abt...Please wait for your party to connect...Party connected. 4 creds per breem. Do you accept the charges?::

Y

HuffNstuff: Nova Beam! You waited for me!

NBAviator: I didn't wait, silly. I'm late, too :p

HuffNstuff: Oh...I guess great processors work alike ;P

NBAviator: I guess so. So Huffer, what's new with you?

HuffNstuff: I got stuck rebuilding a dam. It wasn't as bad as some of my assignments though. At least I got to work with Gears. He's not as efficient as Brawn or Grapple, but he's good company.

NBAviator: Yeah, there's a guy in my unit like that. He doesn't talk much, but he listens. Sometimes I wish he talked a little more though. I get nervous when mechs are real quiet. Oh, how did that bet you made with Smokescreen the other orn go?

HuffNstuff: I lost. I had to wear a lousy human-style hat for the next shift, and I was on monitor duty so Cliffjumper saw the whole thing!

NBAviator: Aw, I bet you'd look cute with a hat on. Do you have a pic?

HuffNstuff: No! No fragging way! Enough about that though, you said you had a coworker that listens to you?

NBAviator: Yeah...Why?

HuffNstuff: No reason. None at all. Just glad you have friends in your unit. Would you consider this mech a friend?

NBAviator: Huffer...Are you...Jealous?

HuffNstuff: NO!

NBAviator: LOL! Sorry, I guess that's insensitive, it's just the idea of me dating that guy is not only ridiculous, but kinda gross. Huffer, honey, you have nothing to worry about. I love you, and no creepy mech with hammer hands and a stalker stare is going to take your place. I promise :3

HuffNstuff: So he's really that ugly, huh?

NBAviator: He's...More like a brother to me, so don't tell him I said this, but he looks like one of Unicron's farts XD

HuffNstuff: LOLOLOLOLOL! Listen, Nova Beam. Are you still in Iacon?

NBAviator: Sorry, that's classified. Why do you ask?

HuffNstuff: I'm just worried is all. Did you hear about that refugee camp that got flattened by that ugly brute Malfactor? Oh, how I wish somebody would just do something about that hulking monster already!

NBAviator: You know about that already? Wow, your uplink connection must be _really_ fast! Yeah, that happened just a joor or so ago. Oh! My team is calling me. I have to log off. Love U :3

HuffNstuff: Love you too, babe ;)

* * *

Shadow Star logged off and went over to tend to whatever it was the twins needed. They came to her a lot lately. Despite their status as combiner members, Mischief and Mayhem were often bullied by bigger 'Cons that wanted the pleasure of putting a gestalt member in their place. They both knew they were lucky to have a sympathetic boss on their side.

Shadow Star saw that Mayhem's elbow joint was severed and there was exposed wiring. She took her time to reconnect the wires and then wrapped the wound up in chain mail until they could get her to a real medic.

Looking back at her computer terminal for a second, Shadow Star felt another wave of guilt wash over her. She remembered when she first found out there was a mech that was 68% compatible with her on Cyberdate. No Decepticon was ever that compatible on that website, and after thinking about it Nova Beam had realized why. She had a pitifully low kill stat. In her entire life she had only killed 12 mechs when she met Huffer, and at 40-something his kills were low, too.

It hit Shadow Star then that as a combiner leader she had killed more Cybertronians in a few orns than she had killed in her entire 13,000 vorns of life before that. No doubt about it now, she had turned into the kind of Decepticon Tremor had always wanted her to be. She was a monster now, and she knew deep down that she wasn't good enough for Huffer anymore. She wouldn't give him up though. Shadow Star had no other links to the part of her that was still able to love, feel, and care about things. No, it might've been selfish, but she would never give up Huffer's love. Someday she would find a way to tell him the truth, but she would wait until she knew he wouldn't abandon her for her honesty.


	16. Chapter 16

_Author's Notes: Well, once again I have gone way too long without updating this story. It wasn't intentional, but I have a lot of stories on this sight to keep updated, and sometimes inspiration favors one over the other. Still, this story is one I'm glad I'm writing. When I started I didn't think anyone would want to see a romance starring Huffer, but surprisingly this fic has had a lot of views and a lot of positive response. I'll probably write one, maybe two more chapters on this fic. Anyway, enough rambling, let's get back to Do You Accept The Charges? :)_

* * *

Chapter 16

The Shockticons packed up their stuff faster than they'd ever packed before! Their subspaces were all full to the brim with anti-rust lotions, beach toys, towels, data pads, and pretty much anything else they thought they would need for their 2 orn long vacation.

The shuttle waited patiently for his passengers, and the twins and Shadow Star danced around the big black and gold transport with jubilation. They had been working so hard to clear the Autobots out of the new area Shockwave was claiming on behalf of Megatron, and finally they would get to relax and party!

Jailbird flitted around the shuttle like an angry gadfly as he inspected every square inch of the transformer for signs of structural decay. They were going into deep space to vacation off-planet, so he wanted to ensure everything was perfectly safe.

Lowrider loaded the last few cubes of energon and signaled that Shadow Star and the twins could climb in. Jailbird was the last to arrive since he had to check one more time for signs of cosmic rust. Jailbird was a rather fastidious 'Con, and it occasionally got on the nerves of his teammates. The shuttle sighed longsufferingly but didn't put up any resistance beyond that.

Soon they were off, and the stars gently glided by them as their shuttle/guide flew at a languid pace. Well, in truth he was going close to the speed of light, but it seemed languid in the expansive void where it took an eternity for things to look like they were changing.

Mischief and Mayhem looked out the windows like excited children and pointed to stars they knew about. Shadow Star smiled lovingly at them, and was struck with a sort of empathetic sadness for them that they lost their carrier. They really were just younglings, and changing to such drastic new forms couldn't have been good for their psyches. They simply weren't experienced enough to make such a permanent life decision.

"So, what planet are we going to?" The shuttle asked the Shockticons.

"Definitely a water planet!" Shadow Star said before anyone else could get a word in edgewise, "I want a planet that's mostly water, and has challenging but manageable waves for surfing. I love surfing!"

"Who made you queen of the shuttle?" Jailbird asked caustically.

"Shockwave," was Shadow Star's deadpan reply.

Whether it was the bored yet aggravated optics or the hollow multi-tone of her voice, Jailbird for some reason decided to not fight her for once. She allowed herself a small smile of triumph. Maybe Jailbird would finally get with the program after all.

* * *

It took half an orn before the shuttle came across a planet with sufficient water for surfing. He didn't have any planets like that on his map, and after a few cycles he was actually _lost_. Shadow Star was about to order him to turn his aft around and go home when he came across a little marble-colored terrestrial planet that was ¾ water. Everyone was pleased (well, they couldn't actually tell if Lowrider was pleased or not), and they ordered the shuttle to activate his floatation device. The shuttle didn't want to do that since it made him look like he was wearing a fat suit, so instead he found a spot of land that bordered the water.

Shadow Star and the twins eagerly gazed out the window at the planet below and the sky above. The sky was blue and white with lots of flying creatures, and the ground was yellow with lots of cuddly little organic creatures running around and making all sorts of cute squealing and screaming noises. She just wanted to grab one and pet it so badly!

When the gestalt exited the shuttle they found the ground actually sank a little under their pedes. It was probably made of water-crushed rocks, but nobody cared to study it. There were no scientists in this combiner team, after all. They gingerly walked out, and Shadow Star saw the water in all its glory. It was deep blue to complement the sky, and the star this planet orbited cast shimmering diamond-like light all over the blanket of rippling liquid. The air was a gentle breeze, and the sounds were quiet and serene. It was one of the most beautiful planets Shadow Star had ever been on.

"Whee! Look at me, Sis!" Mischief called out to Mayhem, "Look! I'm splashing with my pile drivers! You gotta try this!"

Mayhem giggled and ran out to join her brother. Jailbird immediately took to the sky, and part of Shadow Star wished she still had her beautiful streamlined wings so she could fly like him. That thought dissipated when her optics caught sight of the water again. Swimming was the perfect way to relax after a rough deca-orn of slaughtering Autobots.

Just as she was about to make it to the water, however, a pinging on her broadband comm frequency caught her attention. Everyone else must've heard it as well, because everyone stopped what they were doing to answer it. It was a call to arms routed just 400 mechano-miles away from their location on this very planet. Shadow Star, being the leader, answered the call. It was made by Megatron himself!

"What the scrap?" Shadow Star asked out loud, "How can that be? Megatron isn't here, he's on... _earth_."

It hit her like a ton of bricks. She and her gestalt were on earth. This was where Megatron was. This was where Optimus Prime and his Autobots were. Most importantly to Shadow Star though, this was where _Huffer_ was.

The shuttle was a neutral so he didn't join the gestalt for the fight, but the Shockticons were honor-bound to defend Megatron and his soldiers at all costs. Shadow Star led the group, but she had a sickening feeling in her fuel tanks. There was only one reason to call every Decepticon in the area: Autobots. If there were Autobots, then Huffer might be involved. If she merged with the others to form Malfactor, then there would be no way to protect him from the full fury of their berserker state of mind. She told herself that she simply wouldn't give the command to merge, and hoped that her spark bond with the others didn't give away her intentions.

* * *

When they made it there it was a loud and brutal melee. Megatron and Optimus Prime were exchanging shots, and in a sick sort of way their movements were almost graceful. The seekers were fighting the flying Autobots, and everyone else was in a free-for-all on the ground.

Shadow Star and her team landed close to where Megatron was. Optimus Prime had Megatron in a headlock, but actually stopped and gaped when he saw the new team. It was only for a brief moment, but it was long enough that the Shockticons knew they were recognized. Megatron used the moment to sucker punch Optimus in the abdomen and walk up to his new combiner team.

"Well, well, well...What do we have here?" Megatron asked of his new combiners, "I don't recall asking Shockwave to send you down here."

"Um...He didn't, sir," Shadow Star replied; a lump forming in her vocalizer, "We were here on personal business, but have come to serve the Decepticon cause. Where do you want us, oh mighty leader?"

This wasn't happening. This couldn't be happening! Before meeting Shockwave, Nova Beam had never known anyone more famous than that one mech that managed to get 100 rocks in his mouth in the neighboring base, and now she was talking to Megatron. _The_ Megatron. The Slag Maker himself! Being formed into Shadow Star had certainly opened a few doors for her.

"Destroy as many Autobots as you can," Megatron ordered, "Start with him."

Megatron had pointed to Ironhide. He was a tough old mech, but he didn't look like anything the Shockticons couldn't handle.

"Yes sir!" Shadow Star replied as she stood at attention, "Lowrider, run him down!"

Lowrider then turned into his land vehicle mode; a large armored car that dwarfed Ironhide's van alt mode. His engine roared, but rather than be afraid Ironhide used his liquid nitrogen to cause the Decepticon to lose traction and swerve. Lowrider landed on a cliff facing, and his armor was busted to pieces! He groaned a few curses under his breath, so the others knew he would be alright.

"Okay that's it! Mischief, Mayhem, take out Ironhide! Jailbird, you go after that tank over there, and I'll take out the Praxians. Move it!" Shadow Star barked at her team and then started running toward Prowl and Bluestreak.

Shadow Star took a canon out of her subspace and started shooting at Prowl, who rolled on the ground and then shot at her with his acid pellets. She dodged the attack, but saw the tiny bullets melt into the ground, so she knew this mech was dangerous. She fired again and again, causing the Autobot to run in her wake and barely avoid being hit by the shots.

Bluestreak, meanwhile, had noticed Prowl was in danger and aimed his pistol at the bulky femme. She was slow, and made for an easy target, but Bluestreak was having trouble figuring out where her spark would be. Her frame type was unknown, and he wasn't even sure she had a vehicle form! Still, he had to shoot somewhere or risk Prowl being killed by that unruly beast.

He took his chance at aiming for the left shoulder joint since it was one of the only parts of Shadow Star with exposed cables. He was 200 yards away from the femme, but thanks to his skills and targeting system his shots rang true and the femme was hit in the shoulder linkage!

Shadow Star let out a roar of pain and clutched her arm. She decided to wait out her self repair systems and ran toward a boulder to take cover behind it. The only Autobot she ran into along the way was Beachcomber, and he was in no condition to take on a tough gestalt leader like Shadow Star, so he didn't even try to stop her.

She leapt behind the boulder and took in a few intakes of air to try to cool down her overheating systems. The wound still hurt, but she was sure it wasn't fatal. Beside her she heard the faint whirring of gears and knew then that there was someone else there. If it was an Autobot, then she would have to fight for her life. If it was a Decepticon, then she might still have to fight for her life.

She slowly turned her body to look at the mech beside her, and felt her spark hitch when she recognized who it was beside her! It was Huffer!

He was unconscious, and looked like he had been shot in the back where his hood was. That orange hood likely protected his spark from being extinguished, but he still took a nasty hit.

Shadow Star couldn't believe she was really looking at him. He was actually here! For the first time since they had known each other he was close enough for her to touch him!

Gingerly, and with slow halting movements, Shadow Star wrapped her servos around Huffer's small yet boxy frame and drew him closer to her. She embraced his slack form as she examined him for damage. It didn't look as serious as she thought at first. All he would need was rudimentary repairs.

Huffer's body felt so warm next to her, and she couldn't resist turning him over so that he was face up. She ran her digits over the Autobot sigil on his chest, and then his window, and then finally lightly brushed her digits along the contour of his face. The Decepticon femme's love for him had been strong for some time, but now that he was here her body felt a lust she didn't know she was capable of. Still, she knew she had to be careful with him. She was big enough that she could hurt him if she so much as squeezed his armor too tightly.

Forgetting everything happening around her, Shadow Star stroked his helm with her servo in a loving fashion, and then leaned in to gently kiss his lip components. It was the first time she had been able to get this close to her true love, and she didn't want the moment to end.

Huffer awoke feeling strange. His helm hurt, and his back hurt from the gunshot, but the strongest sensation was that he felt like someone was holding him and kissing him. He onlined his optics to see what was going on, and the only thing he could see were the bright red optics of a dark red Decepticon activating their optics at the same time as him! He pushed back to get the thing off him, and when the Decepticon reared back he saw that it was someone he didn't recognize!

"Hey! *spit* Who do you think you are? *spit* *spit*!" Huffer exclaimed caustically as he gave the Decepticon a dirty look and wiped away cleaning fluid from his mouth plates.

"Wait, no! I can explain-!" Shadow Star looked scandalized as she tried desperately to say something that wouldn't make herself seem like a total creep.

Just then another Autobot, Gears, came running at the sound of Huffer's exclamation and aimed his photon weapon right at Shadow Star. That puny pistol wouldn't do anything against her armor, but she still didn't want him there to witness her humiliation.

"Hey Huffer, need some backup?" Gears asked; never taking his optics off the new Decepticon.

"I don't know who that Decepticon is, but I think he tried to rape me!" Huffer frantically replied.

" _She_ ," Gears corrected, "That's a femme. Her name's Shadow Star. She's the head honcho for the Shockticons."

Shadow Star didn't stay to hear anymore of their conversation. She wanted to cry, but she didn't have time. The battle was still raging, and she needed to be there for her team. She had never done anything so reckless before, and she felt like a fool for kissing Huffer while he was in stasis lock. She just couldn't resist being so close to him, but now she knew for a fact that he thought she was an ugly she-male stalker! This rejection tore through her systems like a buzzsaw. Something happened however that immediately distracted her from her own problems...

"Constructicons!" Megatron shouted from the center of the fighting, "Merge into Devastator!"

The six Constructicons melded their frames together in a two-stage movement that transformed them into the original gestalt, the hulking colossus, Devastator! Shadow Star stared in awe of them, realizing that this was the grandfather of all gestalt units. They were formed back when the technology was so new that six mechs were used instead of five. They had since figured out how to make the head and torso one and the same so nobody had to be the crotch.

Devastator immediately began to attack the Autobot forces, and the Aerialbots merged to form Superion to combat the green and purple monster! Soon the Protectobots merged to form Defensor, and it looked like the Autobots were winning the fight!

"Shockticons!" _Oh, boy…_ "Merge into Malfactor!" Megatron cried out.

This was not good. It was Shadow Star's function to activate the merging process, but how could she follow the command to combine when her Huffer was still so close to the action? Sure, he rebuffed her, but it wasn't his fault. He didn't know who she was. Still, this was a direct order from Megatron. How could she even fathom an act of disobedience against her king? If she didn't follow his command now she might as well hand herself over to Unicron and be consumed!

This entire thought process took place in mere seconds, and after she thought through everything Shadow Star got an idea of what she could do to save face.

"OW!" Shadow Star screamed dramatically as she fell to the ground clutching her side, "My transformation cog! It must've been hit in the fight! I can't transform!"

Shadow Star knew the transformation cog was the same organ responsible for the combining process. If she was out of commission, then so was Malfactor. She only hoped Megatron bought it.

Megatron was about to say something, but then Superion and Defensor threw Devastator into the cliff facing and the gestalt split back into its six original members; the Constructicons. They looked dazed but unharmed, but it still meant the Autobots were winning the day.

Realizing they had no advantage left, Megatron hollered "Decepticons, retreat!"

The Decepticons flew into the air, and the five Shockticons followed. Shadow Star lagged behind and looked around the landscape until she found a sharp rock. If the medic examined her transformation cog and found it functional then she would be slagged! With no other choice left, she opened her plating and rammed the rock into her own cog!

She bit back a scream of pain, and flew away before the Autobots noticed she was there. A couple Autobots noticed her and opened fire, but by then she was too far away to be harmed by their assault.

Shadow Star had escaped with her life and stolen a kiss, but she knew her luck was running out. If Megatron suspected her treachery, then she was done for. She only hoped that someday she could properly explain this to Huffer, and that maybe one day he would find it in his spark to accept her despite her allegiance.


	17. Chapter 17

Chapter 17

Huffer had spent three hours in the wash racks. He even used some of Sparkplug's toothpaste, as he had seen humans do on occasion, to try to get rid of the feeling of that beast's lips against his. After several runs through the wash racks, he felt that maybe, just _maybe_ , he was finally clean.

Nothing like this had ever happened to Huffer. Sure, he had seen Decepticon femmes in the field before, and had even fought against them. Some were skilled in the field of torture, and a few were even capable saboteurs. This was different though. He had never seen a Decepticon femme try to take advantage of an Autobot prisoner. If he hadn't onlined when he did who knows what she might've done to him? He imagined being chained up in the Decepticon brig with that leering abomination and felt dirty all over again.

Still, this wasn't as bad as it could have been. In fact, he even recalled that Shadow Star seemed apologetic and embarrassed after he caught her groping and kissing him. He still didn't understand what possessed her to do something so unwarranted. There was a battle, and either one of them could have been shot, and yet that crazy Decepticon goes all Snow White on his chassis! It was weird if nothing else.

Huffer was almost to his quarters when he heard footsteps running toward his location. He sighed and turned around, but smiled in relief to see it was just Gears. He really owed Gears for coming to his rescue on the battlefield.

"Hey Huffer, you get that hole in your back fixed yet?" Gears asked gruffly.

"Not yet," Huffer replied, "It seemed pointless. I'd just have to sit in the medbay for hours on end and watch Ratchet repair other Autobots while ignorin' me. I'd rather wait until the commotion dies down."

"Well, so long as you're not leaking energon," Gears shrugged, "Personally I'd get that fixed immediately, but that's just me. So...You doing alright?"

"Yeah," Huffer replied in a whiny and tired tone of voice, "I just...I can't believe it. The Shockticons are here on earth. To think I tried to convince Nova Beam to move here. Glad she didn't listen to me. At least now I know they won't get her."

"I'm not sure they'd want her," Gears chuckled despite the seriousness of the situation, "I think you're more they're type."

"Ugh! I'll never live this down!" Huffer cried out miserably, "Manhandled by Shadow Star! You know, I never realized how ugly she was until I saw her up close. I think _you_ might actually have more sex appeal than that thing!"

"Ouch," Gears deadpanned, "Still, you were lucky. From what I understand that is one ruthless gestalt, and Malfactor has several cities' worth of kills to its name. At least their leader didn't try to kill you."

"Or interface with me," Huffer shivered in disgust, "It's been a rough day, and it's almost time for my chat with Nova Beam. I've gotta go. See you tomorrow."

"Hey wait!" Gears stopped him for a second, "Are you gonna tell Nova Beam about any of this?"

"No, definitely not," Huffer replied with finality, "She doesn't need to know about my problems. Besides, I don't want her to worry about me. I just want to forget this ever happened."

Huffer went back into his room and locked the door behind him. He sighed and sat down at the computer. He didn't understand why this happened to him. He wasn't a very attractive mech, or a very important one. He was committed to a relationship with a femme that loved him. Why would that Decepticon femme pick him? Why?

* * *

Shadow Star sat impatiently on the medical berth while Hook examined her exposed transformation cog. She was getting antsy due to the time. She really didn't want to miss her chance to chat with Huffer, and only hoped she could someday put the awkwardness of her lapse in judgement behind her.

"Hm...How did you manage to get a rock jammed into your t-cog?" Hook asked as he held up the jagged piece of igneous to get a better look at it.

"I don't know! There's rocks on this planet, so it was bound to happen!" Shadow Star shouted defensively.

"I see," Hook replied noncommittally, and then after another minute of examination said "I noticed your armor is completely undamaged, and yet you had a rock stuck in your transformation cog. My deduction: this wound was self-inflicted. You broke your ability to transform on purpose."

"What? Why would you say that?" Shadow Star asked nervously, "I would never do anything to hinder the Decepticon cause!"

"I know you did this," Hook pressed on, "Just tell me why, and if your excuse is good enough I won't tell Lord Megatron."

"Well…" Shadow Star thought long and hard about what to say, but finally settled for saying "...We were on vacation, and I was angry at having to fight on our off-duty time after we'd worked so hard to earn this trip. I regretted it immediately, and I'm sorry if I cost our side anything important. It will never happen again. I promise."

Of course, she was lying. Shadow Star hated to admit it, but she had become a better liar since she started her forbidden online romance with Huffer. She used to be obvious when she lied and used to wear her spark for all to see, but not anymore. Truth was, she didn't care about the trip being ruined at all, and she wasn't sorry. Her actions saved the lives of Huffer and his friends. She would do it all again if given the choice.

"M-hm," Hook nodded as he wrote something down on a data pad, "Subject is quite unstable mentally and emotionally," Hook said under his breath, but Shadow Star heard him, "Hm...Shadow Star, my recommendation is for you and your gestalt to be returned to Cybertron for further training and psychological evaluation. I don't believe you are in any shape to work directly under Megatron."

"I am not crazy!" Shadow Star barked challengingly.

"I know, but you are inexperienced," Hook clarified, "I still remember when my gestalt was first formed. Scrapper is our leader, and yet he forms the right leg instead of the head. Do you know why?"

"Um...Not really," Shadow Star replied uncertainly.

"Because when we first joined the Decepticons, I didn't want to fight," Hook confessed, "I knew we needed to fight, but I was younger then, and had worked my entire life as first a construction worker and then a medic. Back then the idea of inflicting harm on others bothered me. I was supposed to form the right leg, but Scrapper noticed how uncomfortable I was with the idea of serving as a limb for a towering death machine, so he insisted to Shockwave that he be the right leg and I serve as Devastator's head. I'll admit I'm not the least bit squeamish about killing our enemies now, but I was once. Eventually every member of a gestalt becomes part of a greater whole, but it takes time. You and your team aren't there yet. You'll get there though, I'm sure."

"You had a low kill stat?" Shadow Star asked softly; feeling she and the older gestalt member had something in common.

"Yes. Scrapper assumed that if I was the head of the combiner instead of a limb I wouldn't have to feel guilty about killing the enemy," Hook clarified, "To this day we're the only gestalt unit that doesn't have their leader as the head. Of course, there are so few Gestalts that the achievement is hardly worth mentioning."

"That was really nice of Scrapper to accommodate you like that," Shadow Star commented.

"We were friends long before the war," Hook replied wistfully, "The Constructicons as a group predates the Decepticons. Of course, the council didn't appreciate our talents and our energon rations were eventually cut down to practically nothing. We were so furious...but Megatron gave us a home and a purpose. While I admit there are times I feel my gestalt and I could lead us to a quicker end to the war, I have never regretted my loyalty to Megatron or the Decepticon cause."

"Do you have any photos of the buildings you made?" Shadow Star asked, "I have a boyfriend, and he's really into building stuff. He used to work construction too, and he taught me a lot about Cybertronian architecture."

"Why I would be delighted to show you some of our past feats as well as more recent blueprints," Hook replied with a gracious smile, "Honestly, you're the first one outside of my gestalt to ever ask me about my civilian career."

Shadow Star smiled back, a gnarly sharp-toothed smile, and followed Hook into his office. They spent the next half hour looking over old photos and blueprints, and Shadow Star would've stayed longer if it weren't for the fact that she wanted to chat with Huffer.

* * *

She hurried along to her temporary quarters, picked up her computer, and stuffed it in the closet. She went inside the dark closet and shut the door. She was aware of the reputation of Megatron's third in command, Soundwave, and wanted to ensure privacy as she contacted her Autobot paramour. After she was finished she would have to erase her terminal history. She might even switch out the hard drive for another to save time. Shadow Star was getting better at covert operations the longer she held onto this treasonous affair.

::Connecting to combichat,abt...Please wait for your party to connect...Party connected. 4 creds per breem. Do you accept the charges?::

Y

HuffNstuff: Nova Beam! What happened? You're late. I already had to spend 16 creds!

NBAviator: I'm sorry, Huffer. I had a doctor's appointment and I couldn't afford to miss it.

HuffNstuff: Yeah, I'm sorry, too. I shouldn't snap at you like that. I guess I'm just on edge today.

NBAviator: Oh? Did something happen?

HuffNstuff: Nothing big. The Decepticons attacked and we beat them back as usual. No big deal.

NBAviator: Well, I'm just glad you're safe now :3

HuffNstuff: Yeah, but I just gotta warn you: don't come to earth! The Shockticons are down here now, and between them, Devastator, Bruticus, and Menasor it's gestalt city around here! That's not even mentioning our guys!

NBAviator: Don't worry. I'm not gonna be on earth for a long time. Hopefully when the war is over you can take me to one of the beaches on earth. I would love to go swimming or surfing with you. Maybe I'll upgrade my body before the war is over. Maybe a pink or purple frame with dainty fragmented wings. Maybe change my optics to a lustrous green :3

HuffNstuff: Don't worry about that. I think you're gorgeous just the way you are ;)

NBAviator: Um, Huffer…? If I did change...If I stopped being pretty...Would you still like me?

HuffNstuff: Impossible! Nothing you do to yourself could make you stop being pretty. It's who you are, corny as that sounds. You care about other mechs and femmes. You listen to me even when all I do is complain about the bad I've had. You accept me for who I am. No matter what you look like on the outside, you'll never stop being pretty. Why do U ask?

NBAviator: No reason. It's just...I might have to be retrofitted in new armor for my new mission. I'm sorry I can't be there with you. I'm sorry there is so much between us keeping us apart. I'm just...Sorry :'(

* * *

Shadow Star placed her servo over the computer screen longingly. Huffer had no idea how sorry she was. Sorry for the lies, sorry for the attacks on Autobots when she was out of her mind as Malfactor, sorry for smoking enerjolts, and sorry she ever agreed to be a part of Shockwave's cruel experiment. If only she could turn back time and never take that job offer. She would rather defect to the Autobots and be Nova Beam again than spend one more cycle as Shadow Star.

Of course, that choice wasn't hers to make. She was part of a gestalt link now. There were four other team members to consider. While they were still new enough to not die if they lost a member, they still were chemically dependent on each other. She could never leave them, because that would kill Malfactor.

Huffer looked at the screen sorrowfully and let out a deep forlorn sigh. Did she know about the attack on him? No, she couldn't know about that! Still, despite not being at fault he felt ashamed of what happened to him. It was like he cheated on Nova Beam. He knew that was a twisted thought, but he had never had the chance to be with a femme before, not even a real date before, and he didn't know how to deal with these feelings.

Shadow Star was probably the first time any femme had really kissed him, and he was so furious that she stole that privilege away from Nova Beam! Huffer could never tell her about this. Deep down, he knew this wasn't such a big deal and that he could've endured far worse, but it hurt. It hurt him that his ivory femme was far away from him and he had never even been allowed to feel her touch, and yet a slagging Decepticon could get this close to him while he was out cold!

They were both in pain and longed for each other, but their pains stemmed from different things. Huffer felt violated and alone. Shadow Star felt like she was turning into a disgusting monster with no control over her impulses or her destiny. They could never work through it so long as they were apart, but fear kept them apart as Shadow Star imagined his grossed out reaction to her...and envisioned what his ultimate rejection would look like.

* * *

Getting off the shuttle and gazing once more on Cybertron felt good. Shadow Star and the others walked along the streets of Polyhex towards the location of Shockwave's latest underground laboratory. He had called them en route, and they weren't even going to get time to relax in their hotel room before going back to work on their latest mercenary assignment.

"I wish we could've stayed," Mayhem whined, "I was getting offers from Rumble, Frenzy, _and_ Wildrider!"

"You really would've dated one of them?" Shadow Star asked.

"Sure. Frenzy seemed like a lot of fun," Mayhem replied sheepishly as she giggled and ducked her helm down a little.

Shadow Star shook her head in an amused manner and thought about how much more attention from the Cassetticons Mayhem would've gotten if she still had her original cassette body. Oh well, at least someone got some consensual attention…

"Shadow Star, what did Hook mean when he said our gestalt needed to consult a psychiatrist?" Jailbird asked suspiciously, "Why would he think we're insane?"

"He thinks _I'm_ insane, not you," Shadow Star rolled her optics back sardonically as she continued to walk, "He said it takes a while for combiners to fully integrate. I'll be fine after a few vorns."

"Can we really afford to wait that long?" Jailbird asked miserably, "Listen, I know I gave you a hard time about being the leader, but you've done a fair job so far. That being said, if you're going lugnuts on us then I need to know. Malfactor can't afford to suffer mental defects. Malfactor's problem solving abilities is what separates us from the other gestalts."

"I know, and it's fine. I just had one bad day," Shadow Star reassured him, "I'm sure we'll be ready for whatever our next mission turns out to be."

* * *

Shadow Star was _not_ ready for this mission. Shockwave had given them to coordinates and shooed them out of his office so quickly that it was difficult for the gestalt leader to process what they were really being asked to do.

"Kill Elita One!" Mischief whistled incredulously as he stared at the map of Iacon, "If Shockwave himself can't do it, then what makes him think we can do it?"

"We can do it," Jailbird replied encouragingly, "We're the best gestalt on Cybertron. _Lady Prime_ won't know what hit her! Oh no wait, she _will_."

Jailbird chuckled evilly at his own joke, and the rest of the gestalt tried to steel themselves for the task ahead. Shadow Star had mixed feelings about this. On the one hand Elita One was the evil queen of the Autobots. She deserved their wrath. On the other hand Shadow Star had learned more about the Autobots from Huffer, and knew that Optimus Prime and Elita One were a loving couple. Even though she had spent most of her life hating the Prime, she still felt bad about the idea of making him a widower. He and Elita One had been together since before the war.

"The target lives here," Lowrider announced as they made it to an alleyway.

"This is just an empty dead end street," Mayhem hissed; trying to not talk too loudly.

"No…" Shadow Star approached the manhole cover and stomped on it; causing the Autobot HQ elevator to emerge, "...This is definitely the place."

Before the group could enter the elevator however, gunfire broke out over their heads and they turned around to see a group of Autobot femmes firing on them!

"Well, well, well...I didn't think there were that many Autobot femmes left," Jailbird purred menacingly, "I think we can do something about that though."

The Shockticons leapt into the air and landed right in front of the Autobot femmes! The fighting commenced, and soon it was a full-on brawl as both sides tried to get the upper hand. The Autobots had so much to fight for. They fought for their home, for their team, and for their future. The Shockticons fought mostly to keep their jobs and to keep each other in one piece.

Shadow Star didn't give the command to merge even though they were outnumbered 3 to 1. They needed to conserve their power for the main event, but that meant the twins were at a grave disadvantage.

The Autobot known as Firestar lifted Mayhem up by her ankle joint and started ramming her into the ground from one side to the other like an angry toddler abusing a toy! Mischief used his pile drivers to dent Firestar's legs, but then the Autobot Moonracer shot Mischief in the shoulder before body-slamming him into the ground! Shadow Star disengaged the Autobot she was fighting to aid the twins, and with a furious roar slashed her claws into Firestar's back! Moonracer tried to shoot Shadow Star, but her armor was too powerful, and Shadow Star punched her in the side of the helm; causing Moonracer to black out.

The Autobot femmes were relentless, and the Shockticons were getting tired. They didn't leave though. They couldn't retreat until they had fought and crushed Elita One. Their wish was granted when the tall pink femme emerged from the crowd and ordered her femmes to stand down.

Elita One held a large cannon at the nearest Shockticon, Lowrider, and ordered the Decepticons to stand down or she would open fire on Lowrider. Unfortunately, Elita One didn't know who exactly she was fighting, or she would've seen a flaw in this plan…

"Shockticons!" Shadow Star ordered with a commanding roar, "Merge into Malfactor!"

The five components started moving with no other will than their programmed protocol as their bodies fit together into the savage brute that was Malfactor! Elita One and her troops looked up at the monster in shock, and then came to their senses and started firing on the beast!

None of their shots did anything other than make Malfactor scratch at its plating, and the combiner giant soon started converging on the Autobots! Unlike most combiners that would attack everything in sight without higher processing, Malfactor was designed for precision, and would only engage the enemy it was supposed to.

"Back! Everyone get back!" Elita One's deep resonant voice was the only thing on the battlefield that sounded calm, "Fall back!"

The femmes did as they were told, though most continued to fire as they ran for cover behind a collapsed building. Malfactor didn't pursue them. It only wanted Elita One. The Autobot leader seemed to realize this too, as she started running away from her troops and away from the populated areas of Iacon. She hoped that if she could get the monster to run long enough that it would exhaust its energy and disengage.

" **FIRE**!" The multi-voiced combiner bellowed as its cannon charged and fired at Elita One.

The shot missed, but the impact still knocked Elita One off her feet and she went crashing into the ground. She crawled for cover behind the wall of what was once a wax store. Malfactor aimed another shot, but Elita parried away from that one as well. Elita One fired her own cannon at the combiner, but the shot barely phased it. Their cat and mouse game continued all over Iacon, and Elita One wondered why the gestalt unit wasn't out of energy yet.

Finally she ran up to a dead end, and she shuddered as she saw the giant approach her. She was cornered. She knew it was now or never. Make her stand and hope for the best.

Elita fired repeatedly from her cannon and hoped the barrage would be enough to discourage Malfactor. Once her cannon was spent, she flung it away and fired more rounds from her laser pistol! The smoke cleared, but the gestalt was still standing and barely dazed!

"Ahh!" Elita One's scream was fearful, but also angry. She couldn't let Shockwave's new pet kill her family!

With one final desperate move, Elita One pulled a sword from her subspace and charged at the beast! The sword was actually sharp enough to penetrate the armor at Malfactor's right ankle, and energon began to flow, causing the monster to disengage and become five separate Decepticons again.

Shadow Star looked around to see Lowrider was bleeding from a huge gash across his chest. Elita One had wounded him! Elita One was attacking Jailbird now, and Shadow Star felt a fury that she didn't know she was capable of. This femme was trying to kill her gestalt...her family!

Shadow Star screamed as she charged Elita One! She tackled the pink femme and the two began to fight! Elita One was strong, but so was Shadow Star, and the two seemed to be evenly matched. Before long, however, the twins were grabbing Elita's legs and Shadow Star pinned her arms. They didn't have a plan. They were just angry at her.

Jailbird, thinking quickly, grabbed Elita's dropped cannon and charged it with his own weapon's energy. The cannon was more powerful, so it just made sense. Jailbird then approached where his gestalt was holding down Elita One and aimed the cannon at her helm. She gave him one last hateful look before he fired; terminating Elita One.

The other gestalt members stood up then and all started intaking air heavily. Elita's grey body was testament to the fact that they had accomplished their mission, and they could finally go home and rest.

As the five turned to walk away however, they saw that they were surrounded by a battalion of Autobots pointing weapons on them, and they were led by Ultra Magnus!

* * *

 _Author's Note: Cliffhanger! Yeah, I wrote an Author's note at the bottom this time. Don't get used to it :)_

 _This chapter is the longest one I've written for this story, but it was worth it. Only one more chapter to go before this story is concluded. Please review, and I hope you stick around for the conclusion of "Do You Accept The Charges?" :)_


	18. Chapter 18

_Author's Notes: Wow! It has been so long since I actually finished a story, and I'm still not sure if this chapter was exactly right. I've been planning it for a long time, so I guess it's bittersweet to say goodbye to a finished idea. A huge thanks to everyone who stuck around for this little experiment. I wrote a romance specifically because I don't do it very often and didn't want to neglect an important type of relationship in literature: couples. Oh well, enough rambling. Now it is time for the conclusion of Do You Accept The Charges? :D_

* * *

Chapter 18

The Shockticons were surrounded! Shadow Star didn't know how Ultra Magnus found them, but they couldn't fight now. Her team had injuries, the most serious of which was Lowrider, and if they stayed they would be killed or captured. The only option was to make a break for it.

"Shockticons, split up!" Shadow Star shouted as she plowed into Ultra Magnus.

The Blue and red Autobot fell down hard under her spiky frame, and the gestalt ran. Mischief and Mayhem went south, and Jailbird went north. Lowrider, however, was close to going into stasis lock and couldn't move. Shadow Star saw an old green Autobot grab for Lowrider, and instinctively fired her rifle! The Autobot groaned, but wasn't unconscious. She got off Ultra Magnus and went to grab her oversized partner to take him to safety.

The other Autobots shot at them, and they weren't very fast, but fortunately for them they were both heavily shielded by their armor plating. The laser bullets ricocheted off of them with minimal damage.

"Stay with me, Lowrider!" Shadow Star shouted as she turned the corner, "Can you transform?"

"I...think so…" Lowrider rasped, "I'll try."

Lowrider then transformed into his car mode. He wasn't very fast on his best day, but he seemed even slower than usual due to his injuries. Shadow Star realized only one of them was getting out of this alive. She could run away and leave her colleague as a distraction for her escape, or she could hold off the Autobots and give him time to drive away. In the end, she knew she couldn't live with herself if she failed her family again. She knew what she had to do.

She turned back around to see a swarm of Autobots with guns drawn running straight toward her! She placed herself in a fighting stance, and waited for the inevitable. She struck her fist against the first face plate she could find, but soon she was tackled by several large Autobots soldiers!

She struggled to free herself, a savage fury overtaking her, but it was no use. She was strong, but she couldn't combat their sheer numbers by herself. Soon she felt the pressure of their bodies decreasing, and she was roughly pulled onto her pedes and shackled with her hands behind her back.

Shadow Star looked up to see a gun pointed to her face, and Ultra Magnus at the other end of that gun. She growled, but she knew she couldn't fight anymore.

"Shadow Star, on behalf of the Autobot forces of Iacon I am hereby placing you under arrest," Ultra Magnus intoned, "You are hereby charged with the murder of Elita One as well as the murder of Firestar. You will be provided with an attorney. Do you understand?"

"Your laws mean nothing to me!" Shadow Star spat in contempt, "Decepticons rule this world! All you Autobots have is Iacon. How long do you think you can keep it, especially now that we've taken down your _precious_ leader, Elita One? By the way, as a courtesy I should let you know that you were on our hit list as well, and if I get free you'll have to recharge with one optic open."

 _Oh, frag_! Shadow Star cursed herself in her head. Why was she so bad at keeping information classified? Now this glorified garbage truck would have time to prepare! Oh well, she at least noticed that she was the only one in custody at the moment. She just hoped the others got away.

* * *

Prowl was at the Teletran 1 console when the message came through. He assumed it was Blaster calling from his new post on Cybertron. He had called every other day since arriving so they could coordinate Metroplex's move to earth. It would only be another six months before Autobot City was ready for the long journey.

"This is Prowl," Prowl said coolly as he answered the call, and was surprised to see Chromia on the line, "Chromia? Is everything alright at the femme's secret base? You look a little worn."

"Thanks a _lot_ , Prince Charming," the blue femme groused, but then her tone became more subdued as she said, "Actually, I need to speak to Optimus Prime...and Inferno. Are they there?"

"Yes, I shall call them both immediately," Prowl said quietly, already guessing what this was about.

Normally Prowl wouldn't think anything suspicious about this communique, but the femmes never contacted earth unless absolutely necessary. Also, it was weird that they were asking for Inferno. Optimus Prime maybe, but Inferno? That could only mean one thing…

It took a few minutes for Optimus Prime and Inferno to both make it to Teletran 1, and when they did the Prime wore a quizzical expression on his face at seeing Chromia on the line. He had expected Elita.

"What is this about, Chromia?" Optimus Prime asked in a calm tone of voice, but inside he was tense.

"Prime, Inferno, I'm sorry to tell you guys this, but…" Chromia stopped for a second to rub the bridge of her nose cone, "There was an attack on our base-"

"What? Shockwave actually found you!?" Inferno asked incredulously.

"Not Shockwave, his new _pets_ ," Chromia spat out the word like it tasted foul, "Those Shockticons came and were tearin' everything to scrap. That one they call Shadow Star attacked Firestar pretty viciously. When they transformed into Malfactor, Elita One led the big ugly tin can away from us. She saved us and our base, but at a terrible cost."

"No..." Optimus Prime found himself whispering before he even realized he spoke.

"I'm sorry, but Elita One was killed in the fight against Malfactor," Chromia told them with a hung helm and a subdued tone of voice, "Firestar died on the field of her injuries. Ultra Magnus managed to capture Shadow Star, but the other Shockticons got away. I've assumed command of the femme unit, but if you think someone else would do a better job-"

"Chromia," Optimus Prime cut her off with a servo lifted, "I don't think anyone else could do a finer job of leading our troops than you. I'm sure Elita would have felt the same way."

"Oh, well, thank you sir," Chromia sputtered in a surprising moment of humility, "I'll do you proud, and work every day to honor the memory of my fallen commander and friend."

Optimus nodded graciously as the communication cut off and then turned to Inferno, who had started crying silent tears. He and Firestar weren't bonded, but they had often discussed bonding after the war was over. Inferno was now regretting the decision to wait. Their lives were so uncertain during this eons-long conflict. Why did he think they would both survive to see the end of the rainbow?

"Inferno, perhaps we should discuss what has happened in my office," Optimus Prime offered, "I'm fairly certain Jazz keeps a supply of high grade around. Perhaps he would be willing to share on an occasion such as this one?"

"I'm fine, Optimus," Inferno lied as he wiped away the cleaning fluid from his optics, "It's just...How are you so calm? Your sparkmate died. How do you do it?"

"I cannot describe the pain I am in right now," Optimus admitted sorrowfully, "Though I do admit it is easier this time. I believed Elita dead once before. I have already lived through this grief. She will, however, always be alive in my memory. The same is true of Firestar. You need to grieve, but do not stop living. What is left of her is inside of you."

Inferno sniffed and said "T-Thank you, Prime. I think I'll take you up on that high grade. Maybe Jazz can play the song Gilded Streets by Newlife. It was very popular in Tyger Pax during the Golden Age. That was Firestar's favorite song."

"Elita was not a fan of music," Optimus reminisced, "You would never guess it now, but when we first started courting I was the one that was considered silly and immature. She was practical and serious, and I was the hopeless romantic with dreams of taking off into the sky just to see what was up there. We were an unlikely couple, but we completed each other's sparks."

"Those Decepticons are goin' down," Inferno vowed bitterly, "We're gonna win this war, and soon!"

"Now is not the time for anger," Optimus replied patiently, "There will be plenty of time for that. For now, we need time to process what has happened."

"Yeah, I guess…" Inferno relented, "Thanks for bein' there for me, Prime. At least I'm not alone in all this."

Prowl watched the two walk out of the room and toward the Prime's office. He was surprised how quickly they forgot he was there. He felt a little like he was intruding on their moment, but he also knew he couldn't afford to leave his post. Not while the Decepticons were working so hard to undermine them and destroy them. He turned back around to his work. He would need to coordinate a dozen shipments of relief supplies to Cybertron, and then he needed to file some paperwork on the new Moonbase 2 project. It was going to be a long grim day at Autobot Headquarters, but Prowl was up to the task.

* * *

Cooler walked down the halls of the Iacon Courthouse with trepidation. He was a new lawyer in a world where such services were rarely needed due to the war, and this case was one of the most high-profile cases he'd ever seen. He huffed as he made his way to the conference room. This was a mere mockery. He wasn't qualified for this case! He knew he could never get his client a fair deal, but he was still expected to try.

He entered to find a councilbot conversing with Steelheart, the procecutor. Cooler tugged on one of his neck cables nervously as he entered the room, and Steelheart cringed when she saw the motion.

"Must you do that?" Steelheart complained dryly, "You'll pull out something important."

"Sorry ma'am, I do this when I get nervous," Cooler replied apologetically as he took a seat at the long table that fit way more than just three 'Bots.

"Ah Cooler, thank you for coming," the councilbot said amiably, "I am Epsilon Tau. I'm sure Steelheart requires no introduction."

"No sir," Cooler replied with admiration, "She's one of the only prosecutors left in Iacon. Not to mention one of the best."

"Don't kid yourself, youngling," Steelheart said stonily, "I'm not the best. It's just that these trials are a joke. Do you know how easy it is to prove a Decepticon's guilt? I don't think I've ever met one that was innocent, or even claimed to be. There were two dozen witnesses that saw the Shockticons kill Elita One, and ten witnesses that will testify that Shadow Star was the one that caused Firestar's fatal injury to the back plating. Her claws raked over that brave Autobot's spark chamber. There was no way she was going to survive that."

"So why am I even here?" Cooler asked skeptically, "If there's no case, then what's the point? If Shadow Star is guilty, then why does she need me?"

"Simple youngling," Steelheart replied with a superior smirk, "You're going to get her to tell us about Shockwave's operations in exchange for leniency. That 'Con is looking at the death penalty for this. Autobots everywhere are crying out for her energon after what she did to Elita One."

"Wait a minute!" Cooler interrupted, "You said the Shockticons killed Elita One, but you didn't say it was Shadow Star specifically!"

"It doesn't matter," Epsilon Tau replied, "According to the law gestalts are counted as a single unit. What one of them did, _all_ of them did."

"So wait...You mean you could charge the others with Firestar's murder at a later date even though Shadow Star acted alone?" Cooler asked incredulously.

"Of course," Epsilon Tau shrugged lightly, "They are all Malfactor. They are all one."

"I've heard of 'until all are one', but this is ridiculous!" Cooler gesticulated, "I won't approach my client with any offers of mercy until you can guarantee me her gestalt won't be charged in Firestar's death."

"That's crazy!" Steelheart argued, "You're in no position to bargain!"

"Oh yes I am!" Cooler replied, his blue face turning a deeper shade in his rage, "You need Shadow Star! Without her information we'll never know the location of Shockwave's lab or of his plans against our people! Pardon the gestalt, or no deal!"

Steelheart was shocked that a fellow Autobot would fight so hard for a murderous Decepticon, but then again, that was his job. Cooler waited for their answer, and a small nod from Epsilon Tau was all he needed to know he had won round one. The next round would be even more difficult, however, because this round would involve his client appearing before Epsilon Tau and Steelheart. If they were going to walk away from this with Shadow Star's life, then he needed to make sure she was ready.

* * *

Shadow Star sat alone in the dark cell; her pedes and servos shackled to keep her from harming the guards when they brought her energon. She heard the noise of the energy bars opening, and looked up to see a small light blue motorcycle-former carrying a data pad and wearing a look of fear on his face.

"Who the pit are you?" Shadow Star growled lowly.

"Um, my name is Cooler, and I'm your advocate. You know, your attorney…" Cooler stammered uncomfortably as he looked at the imposing yet helpless form of his client.

He tried to be calm, and even considered sitting on the berth next to her, but decided against it. He was struck by her narrowed red optics and how her entire frame hefted up and down as she took in air. This didn't look like a Cybertronian so much as it did a burgundy-colored Sharkticon. How was he supposed to win sympathy for this vile creature?

"Um, I don't know if you care about this or not," Cooler began uneasily as he kept his distance from Shadow Star just in case he had to make a break for it, "But I met with Councilbot Epsilon Tau already, and I managed to get your gestalt team pardoned for the murder of Firestar."

"How is it murder when they shoot at you at the same time you shoot at them?" Shadow Star asked in a tired tone of voice, "This is a war. Mechs die. Mechs kill. This is a slagging show trial and you know it."

"I know," Cooler replied; surprising Shadow Star, "That's why I wanted to keep your gestalt from being tried with a death only you caused. I wanted to get you off the Elita One charge, but I don't think that's going to happen. Everyone knows who Elita One is, and they know who you are. It's a sensational story. Simple as that."

"What do you want with me?" Shadow Star asked irritably.

"I might be able to spare you the death penalty," Cooler informed her, "Just give the Autobots some information on Shockwave, and they won't execute you. You'll be helping to save thousands of lives! I know you're a Decepticon, but maybe if you showed a little goodwill, then maybe they would go easy on you."

Shadow Star could hear the uncertainty and self-delusion in the young 'Bot's voice. She already knew what was going on. She was the leader of a deadly combiner unit. The Autobots would either kill her or keep her in chains for the rest of her miserable existence. If they locked her up, then her team would try to rescue her and risk getting captured themselves. Mischief and Mayhem were barely out of the sparkling stage of life. She couldn't risk them getting caught.

" _No_ ," Shadow Star said forcefully, "I will tell them nothing. I will not play their game. If I am to die, then I am to die. Since you are my attorney, then tell them on my behalf to _eat scrap_!"

Cooler flinched, and backed up slowly to the exit. His optics were wide with fear, and Shadow Star immediately felt a pang of guilt over upsetting the helpless Autobot.

"Wait!" Shadow Star commanded, and Cooler actually gulped, "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to scare you. I'm just under a lot of stress right now."

Cooler wasn't sure if he really heard that or not. A Decepticon apologized? He had never seen anything like that before.

"It's okay," Cooler found himself saying to the massive 'Con, "Is there anything I can do for you? You know, besides tell the councilbot to eat scrap?"

Shadow Star and Cooler laughed together over that one. This kid was clearly an attorney for a reason. He was too small and weak to be much of a soldier. Why he picked defense advocate though, Shadow Star wasn't sure she'd ever know.

"Actually, yes, there is something you can do for me…"

* * *

The day of Shadow Star's trial came swiftly. The Autobots knew they didn't have time to waste on this one. Their prisoner was important to the Decepticons, and they needed to get this over with before Shockwave found out where Shadow Star was. There were no observers in the room. Only those who actually had a reason to be there.

Shadow Star sat with Cooler and looked at the ornate decorations of the courtroom with curiosity. None of this stuff was old since the previous courthouses were all demolished during the war, but at the same time it wasn't new. If she had to guess she would say the golden sphere on the far wall was designed by Grapple during the early reawakening period a quarter vorn ago.

Thinking about construction and interior design always put her in mind of Huffer. She sighed as she began to realize just how badly she had screwed up. She began to imagine what her life would've been if she had deserted after her sisters died. Would she have been able to convince the Autobots to let her join them? Would she have fit in with her former enemies? Would Huffer had forgiven her lies if she had changed her faction to be with him?

Would he miss her?

The councilbot stood on a platform at the center of the room. It reminded Shadow Star of the public execution stage in Tarn. She wondered if Autobots publicly killed their prisoners like Decepticons did.

"Shadow Star of Polyhex," Epsilon Tau intoned in an authoritative manner, "You are hereby charged with the assassination of Elita One, the murder of Lt. Firestar, 10 counts of mass murder and terrorism, illegal entry into Iacon, and perversion of your protoform. Do you accept the charges against you?"

"I do," Shadow Star replied with all the dignity left she could muster.

"Do you wish to repent of your life as a Decepticon in exchange for your life, Shadow Star?" Ellison Tau asked her.

"No. My life isn't worth that much," Shadow Star shrugged nonchalantly, "Do your _worst_ , councilbot slagger!"

The councilbot then turned to Cooler to hear his argument.

"The defense has nothing to add," Cooler said stoically, though he glanced over at Shadow Star worriedly.

"Steelheart?" Epsilon Tau turned to the prosecution.

"I have no words," Steelheart replied formally.

"Very well then, since the accused has waived right to redemption, then I hereby sentence Shadow Star to death by spark igniting tonight at 47:00."

"What, no crushing?" Shadow Star muttered in Cooler's audio receptor, "Alright, kid. Go."

"Excuse me, Epsilon Tau?" Cooler suddenly called out.

"Yes, what is it, Cooler?" The councilbot asked impatiently.

"Would the council grant a condemned mechanism one final request?" Cooler asked.

"Of course," Epsilon Tau replied, "We Autobots do our best to treat our prisoners fairly. What does the condemned request?"

"One joor to spend on a computer, monitored by me of course, to ensure she doesn't try anything suspicious," Cooler explained.

"Very well then. Request granted," Epsilon Tau ordered, and Shadow Star smiled for the first time Cooler had ever seen.

* * *

Less than a joor later found Shadow Star and Cooler at a private computer terminal in the courthouse supply closet. Shadow Star servos were still shackled, but she said she could type just fine the way she was.

"So Cooler, you got the encryption device?" Shadow Star asked in hushed tones.

"I can't believe I'm doing this!" Cooler whimpered as he handed her the encryption chip, "If they catch us I'll be labeled a 'Con sympathizer!"

"And you don't sympathize with me?" Shadow Star asked innocently.

"You know what I mean," Cooler replied; annoyed.

"I can't thank you enough for this," Shadow Star said sincerely, "If you knew what I've been through over this...I wish I had joined the Autobots. I guess I was just so used to the way things were. My faction is big and powerful. Autobots are being wiped off the face of the universe, and I didn't want to join a race of doomed mechs. I'm starting to see how little that matters now."

Cooler nodded slightly and placed a gentle comforting servo on her shoulder plate. Before the trial Shadow Star had told him all about Huffer, and it felt so weird for her to share that secret with someone, but she needed Cooler's help if she was ever going to speak to Huffer again. Surprisingly he understood, and even agreed to help her. It was nice to see someone, anyone, still on her side.

* * *

::Connecting to combichat,abt...Please wait for your party to connect...Party connected. 5 creds per breem. Do you accept the charges?::

Y

HuffNstuff: Nova Beam! Right on time! Can you believe they've gone up on the price of Combichat? It's skyway robbery!

NBAviator: You said the same thing about Cyberdate, sweetie.

HuffNstuff: I'm so glad to hear from you. Things have been really nuts around the base lately. We've been scrambling trying to get things in order for Metroplex and the new Autobot crew being assigned to earth. I heard Ultra Magnus has volunteered. I haven't seen him in ages!

NBAviator: That's nice. Listen, Huffer, I need to tell you something while I still have time.

HuffNstuff: What is it, babe?

NBAviator: I've been captured by the enemy, and I'm going to be executed. I'm so sorry Huffer, but this is our last… I'm sorry :'(

* * *

Huffer's hands shook as they hovered over the keyboard. No! He couldn't have read that correctly! It wasn't true! Nova Beam wasn't going to die!

HuffNstuff: Where are you? I'll tell Optimus. He can contact a team to rescue you! Tell me your coordinates! NOW!

NBAviator: There's no time. It's happening in a joor. Besides, I don't know my exact location. Sorry…

HuffNstuff: NOOO! Those filthy 'Cons can't do this! Can you get in contact with their leader? Maybe a ransom payment will convince them to let you go! I'll wire whatever amount you need!

NBAviator: Huffer...Tell me a story.

HuffNstuff: What? Are you kidding? We have to get you outta there!

NBAviator: No, we can't. It's too late. I just want something else to think about when it happens. Please, Huffer? Just tell me a story…

Huffer was leaking optic fluid like his body was trying to purge the very words on the screen away. How could Nova Beam just give up like that? Giving up was _his_ thing! Huffer was used to feeling helpless simply by being trapped on this organic planet, but this situation took it to a whole other level.

She was going to be killed...Nova Beam was going to die and there was nothing he could do about it. He sighed, and began to type again.

HuffNstuff: Well Nova Beam, I remember this one time when I was on a mission that involved a tear in the fabric of time and space. Crazy, huh? Anyway, a hairy tusked animal came out of the time vortex and started tearing up everything in its path. I actually lifted the beast over my head to subdue it! It was nuts! Well, after that more portals opened up all over the planet…

* * *

It was a lousy day. That seemed to be the mantra that ran through Huffer's helm most of his life on this miserable planet. Of all the planets to have to fight the Decepticons on, why did it have to be this organic mudball called earth?

He walked to the rec room for his morning energon. He had a late shift the previous night since Prowl had switched his schedule around again. Part of him wanted to think that Prowl had it out for him, but that couldn't be true since the Datsun would have to actually notice him in order to harbor any ill will, and _nobody_ noticed Huffer.

As Huffer skulked by to collect his glowing purple cube, he saw that Optimus Prime and Inferno were sitting together and talking quietly. He had heard about what happened to their significant others. He couldn't believe the monster that killed them had been on earth and fondled him a mere few weeks before.

Normally Huffer would sit at the minibot table or else drink his cube alone in his room. Today, however, he felt like he needed to be among sympathetic company, so he joined Optimus and Inferno.

"Huffer! What brings you by?" Inferno greeted him a little too loudly for Huffer's liking.

"You look distressed, old friend," Optimus said; his face wearing a look of concern.

"And you don't?" Huffer shot back, "By the way, I'm sorry about what happened to Elita. She was a very special femme."

Huffer then told them what happened to Nova Beam, and the three of them spent the morning discussing old memories and their past loves. Hopefully the war would be over soon. Hopefully the arrival of Metroplex would tip the scales in their favor, and Optimus would defeat Megatron once and for all. Huffer had lost the love of his life, and part of him didn't want to face each day knowing that, but another part wanted to live. Optimus was right. Their femmes were still alive...In their memories.

 **The End**

* * *

 _Author's Notes: ...And then the movie happened!_


End file.
